A Marvelous Saga
by Koryu's Advocate
Summary: Theories refuse to hold up under practical applications, and Mar finds herself in an interesting predicament. Sure, it's interesting to read in fanfiction, but to live it? Sequel to A Kat's Tale, please refer to the previously mentioned before starting this adventure.
1. A New Beginning

Three days after finding herself god knows where, Mar had finally reached civilization. Of sorts. This village or town or whatever it called itself was in sorry shape, buildings and people looking dingy and in disrepair. Mar couldn't help but think that she had seen this place before, a long time ago, and that it was wrong the way it looked now. Everything about this situation was wrong, really, but this town-village-thing was worse. Mar had glanced into a shop just to check it out, and had been disappointed to see nothing for sale except for some sorry looking vegetables. It was almost like Wave before- Mar stopped dead in her tracks, causing the people behind her to curse loudly at her. That was what the place reminded her of, Wave before Naruto's team had turned everything around. But it couldn't be, right? That was years ago, in both their times, so Mar couldn't really be in Gato-Wave. Could she?

There was one sure fire way to find out. Taking a deep breath, Mar steeled her nerve and set off to find the one thing that would prove to her whether it was true. Or not. Mar was praying for not. Several wrong turns later, since the lazy ass show had never bothered letting them know how to get to the damn thing, Mar had found the bridge. The noticeably incomplete bridge. This wasn't Shippuden, as Mar had thought. It was a reasonable assumption, right? The ninja had been from there, so that was where you could expect to end back up, yeah? But how far back was she? Is this the beginning of the Wave Arc? Or is it before Tazuna had gone to Konoha for assistance? Mar rubbed her temples, wincing at the headache she was giving herself. A flash of bubblegum pink out of the corner of her eye was her answer. 'Sakura! Will she remember me?! Or did their memories reset when they got back?' Mar's headache worsened. "Are you alright?" Eyes snapping open, Mar saw the girl she had just been agonizing over giving her a concerned look.

"You know what? No, I'm not okay. I'm lost, defenseless, with no idea how I'm getting home. And to top it off, the people I've been looking for may or may not remember I exist. My days have been better." Sakura had backed up a step, seemingly taken aback by her outburst. Then Sakura frowned before asking, "You said you were lost? Do you have a place to stay?" Mar shook her head, looking away sheepishly. "I've just gotten here. I've been camping out in the woods for the last few days." Sakura opened her mouth, then paused seemingly torn. "I would ask you to stay with us, but it isn't my place to invite you. We can go ask Tazuna-san, though."

'No recognition whatsoever. Sakura definitely doesn't remember me.' This solved that problem, at any rate. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Mar said slowly, trying to think through her options. Alas, Shikamaru she was not. "Why not? You just said you have no place to stay." Sakura pressed, leaning forward earnestly. Leaning away from her, Mar paused.

"You only just met me two minutes ago! And this doesn't seem like all that prosperous a place, he might not even agree to let me stay." Mar said quickly, latching on to the first argument she could think of. "Well, we'll never know unless we ask!" Sakura said cheerfully, grabbing an unwilling Mar's arm and dragging her back to the pathetic shop Mar had seen earlier. "Tazuna-san! My friend has just arrived in town, and has no place to stay. I was hoping you would let her stay with us, as a favor for us continuing the mission." Damn, the girl could be manipulative when her crush wasn't around.

Tazuna looked torn, on the one hand not wanting another mouth to feed and on the other not wanting to offend the ninja who had agreed to help him despite his dishonesty regarding the mission. With a sigh of regret, Tazuna agreed to let Mar stay. "She can stay with us, Sakura-chan. I'm Tazuna, the bridge builder. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss-?"

"Mar." She gave a little wave. Sakura beamed at her success, grabbing Mar's hand as she led the other girl away. Tazuna sighed a very world weary sigh, and followed along behind the two of them. Mar noticed the look on Sakura's face as they traveled through the village, getting more and more morose. It would seem that Sakura had a hard time dealing with the conditions these people found themselves in. Mar really couldn't blame her, it was a pretty difficult thing to witness. All those 'starving children in Africa' infomercials had desensitized her to things like this, however, and Mar could walk through without batting an eye.

Sad, yes, but true.

When the little group arrived at the house, Kakashi was the only ninja in attendance. He and Tsunami were in the kitchen, chatting about something small talk related, and looked up at their entrance. "Hello father, Sakura-chan. Who is this?"

"This is Sakura-chan's friend Mar-chan. Sakura-chan has asked us to let Mar-chan stay with us. I couldn't really refuse her a favor, could I?" Tazuna refused to meet his daughter's eyes, looking everywhere but at her. "I'm sorry for intruding." Mar said hesitantly. "But Sakura-chan insisted that I ask to stay here, and I couldn't refuse either." Sakura elbowed her in the ribs. Mar glared over at her, rubbing her newly forming bruise. "Any friend of Sakura-chan is more than welcome to stay." Tsunami said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the tussling. Kakashi was reclining in the kitchen chair, neutrally regarding the two girls. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet a friend of Sakura-kun. I should be making sure those other two haven't killed each other." Mar watched as Kakashi carefully levered himself out of the chair and hobbled out the door. It was obvious that he was still a bit off, but Mar had a suspicion that he was overplaying the injury.

He really struck her as being that lazy.

When dinner was just about done, Sasuke and Naruto dragged each other through the door. Naruto was grinning like a loon, a sight Mar was very familiar with, and Sasuke looked his normal indifferent self. Well, maybe he seemed a bit more irritated than usual, seeing as Naruto wasn't being all that careful about his balance, but other than that... "We both made it to the top!" That was when he noticed Mar ensconced in the corner. "Who's that?" Sakura went to bop him over the head, but Sasuke stopped supporting him at the exact same time making her miss. "This is my friend Mar-chan! She just got here today, and had no where else to go, so Tazuna-san was nice enough to let her stay here." Sakura regained her composure very quickly, Mar could give her that much. "She's a friend of yours Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked eagerly, sitting up on the ground. Mar nodded, observing the room from her corner.

Mar was in foreign territory, and she had to act accordingly. Especially when her self-appointed bodyguards no longer existed, so to speak. "You've never mentioned her before." Sasuke said, taking a seat at the table. He was too close for Mar's liking, but she couldn't complain without seeming suspicious. "You never asked, Sasuke-kun." Sakura pointed out, wincing when he glared at her. "So, you made it to the top, Naruto?" Sakura said quickly, changing the topic. "Yeah! Me and Sasuke both made it!"

"Then all three of you can go to the bridge tomorrow." Kakashi said brightly, eye curved in that smile of his. Naruto's loud cheer was the last thing Mar heard before making her escape into Sakura's room. If she was going to potentially be held hostage by a couple two-bit swordsmen tomorrow, Mar needed her sleep.

A/N As promised two minutes ago, here it is. I'll try to keep the humor, but the original storyline doesn't give me a lot to work with. It has it's moments, and I'm bound to create more because there's so much worth mocking. Here's hoping you like my idea as much as I like playing with it.


	2. Moral Dilemma

Mar awoke the next morning to Sakura trying to sneak out. "It feels so weird to be on the other end of that." Mar mused aloud, bemused at Sakura's guilty look at waking her. "I get up around this time anyway, Sakura-chan, so don't worry about it." Sakura seemed about to protest, but changed her mind when she noticed the time. "Oh! I've got to be going Mar-chan. Have a good day." Mar chuckled as the girl fled the room. "We'll see, Sakura, we'll see." Everyone was gathered at the door, sans Naruto, when Mar walked out of Sakura's room. "He's pushed himself to the limit, he won't be waking up until later tonight." Kakashi was saying, looking at Mar as she made an appearance. Mar tilted her head in a perfect imitation of Tobi, giving Kakashi a questioning look. Well she was sure he'd be bringing up his concerns eventually. Sasuke was also staring at her, which was very unnerving considering his general disinterest in anything that won't help him in his training.

"Can I help you?" Mar eventually asked, gazing back at him impassively. Without deigning to answer Sasuke turned away, heading out the door. 'He's just a little punk, relax.' Mar told herself, feeling several facial muscles twitch in response. "Well, if everyone is here we should be going." Kakashi finally said when Tazuna came into view. The bridge expedition set off, and Mar had a conundrum. The thugs were going to show up at some point after Naruto left, but did Mar want to be here when they did? She could always go for a walk, conveniently not being here when they arrived. Mar hesitated at that thought though, unwilling to leave Inari and Tsunami behind. How to get them to believe her, however? Head hanging in defeat, Mar reached her decision.

After the three of them finished breakfast, and were cleaning up, Naruto came barreling out of the boys' room in his pajamas. Frantically searching the room, his eyes finally came to a stop on them. "Where is everyone?!" Naruto demanded. "Your sensei said that you would be exhausted, and let you have the day off." Tsunami explained, a bit alarmed at his energy level. "They ditched me!" Naruto shouted, spinning about and slamming the door shut behind him as he got dressed. Fully clothed, Naruto then raced out the door in an attempt to catch up to his team. "That boy sure is energetic." Tsunami hummed, going back to the dishes. "I would say highly excitable, myself." Mar agreed, drying the dishes as she finished them. Tsunami had protested when Mar had offered to help, stating that as their guest she really had no need to pitch in. Mar had counter-argued that seeing as how they were allowing her to stay for free during obviously hard times, she should be allowed to help out in any way she could. Tsunami could not argue the logic, and had bowed to Mar's superior debating skills.

It was as they were just finishing up that the swordsmen made their appearance. The toilet had just been flushed, making Mar wince slightly, and the door opened behind them. Back stiffening in suspense, Mar slipped out the side door Inari would later be appearing in before their new guests could spot her. She found Inari just as Tsunami screamed. "Mom?!" Inari called out in concern, trying to get around Mar. Mar made a grab for his arm, but the squirt proved to be more nimble than she expected and ducked around her. Chasing after him, mouth dry from her own fear, Mar stumbled through the door into the kitchen behind Inari. "Well, well what have we here? No one mentioned another girl would be here." Scars said to his partner, hefting his sword in anticipation. "Enough, we just need the daughter. Grab her and let's go." The other said, obviously bored. Scars didn't seem all that keen on letting the two of them go, and Mar tugged Inari behind herself in a vain attempt to shield him. Inari's legs gave out from under him, as his mother pleaded for both their lives and Mar grit her teeth in irritation. Never before had she felt quite so useless as she did now.

Tying Tsunami's wrists together, the two thugs led her out of the house as Inari and Mar watched helplessly. Making sure they were out of sight, Mar turned and knelt down to Inari taking his chin in her hand. "Listen, little brat. I know we've only just met, and you don't know me, but I can tell you this. Your mother is going to be fine. We just need to provide a suitable distraction." Mar squeezed his chin slightly to be sure she had his attention. "Do you have anything we can use as a weapon around here? Say, a bow or staff?" Inari just sat there for a moment, tears running down his face as he trembled from shock. "Or were you just going to sit there and cry, while those thugs took your mom?" Mar sneered, hoping to snap Inari out of his little pity party.

Something in his eyes changed, growing more determined, and Inari nodded as he stood up. "I have something we can use!" Mar followed him as he led the way to his room.

"Hey! You can't have my mom!" The shout echoed slightly in the still morning air, causing the three people walking away from the house to pause. "You again? I thought you were just a crybaby." Scars said, turning to face Inari. "You leave him alone! Or I'll bite my tongue, I swear-" Tsunami's thought was cut off, sadly, when Bandana decided that knocking her out was preferable to listening to her. "Just go to sleep already." Inari saw red, and with a battle cry he completely disregarded Mar's carefully thought out battle plan and charged at the two of them.

Mar cursed as she saw Scars swing his blade in a downwards arc, much too early for Naruto to have already arrived, and reacted. Jumping out of the hiding spot she had found for her master plan, which had just died before it could really live, Mar dove at Inari in an attempt to push him out of the way. What kind of grateful guest would she be in she let Tazuna's grandson get killed by these punks? Shoving Inari out of the way just in time, Mar rolled onto her back in time to see the blade continuing it's descent. Athletics were never her thing, which she vowed to rectify if she lived through this particular lapse of judgement, Mar couldn't move out of the way fast enough. Closing her eyes in an attempt to block out her imminent doom, Mar felt a sudden rush of movement before hearing an alarmed shout. "Where'd she go?!"

'Oh thank you god, it's about time Naruto!' Mar opened her eyes and saw Tsunami sprawled out on the ground to her left, and Inari sitting to her right. With this hero worship look on his face. "Sorry I'm late, but the hero always waits until the nick of time to save the day!" Naruto exclaimed, turning back to the enemy just in time to watch his clones knock them out. "That doesn't mean take your sweet time!" Mar snapped, heart still thudding in her chest. Never before had she been so sure that she was going to die. Mar wasn't planning on reliving the experience anytime soon. Or ever. "Sorry Mar-chan! Are you guys okay?" Naruto asked, checking her over. Mar grumbled a bit, but then sighed before shoving him gently towards the road. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Don't you have a bridge builder to guard?" Naruto grinned at her before taking off through the trees.

"Okay Inari. Get your crossbow. We've got a village to rouse." Mar said seriously, jaw set in determination. "It's time we all fought for those precious to us."

They didn't remember her, but she remembered them. Mar couldn't just stop loving her boys as though the last few months had never happened, even if she bothered to try. So she would help defend them, at the end when they were too worn out to defend themselves. Mar would just need some help.


	3. The Battle's End

Mar and Inari were once again armed, though this time they were running door to door trying to rally some very reluctant troops. Every door was shut in their face, a fact Mar had forgotten in the time since she'd first seen this Arc, and soon they were both highly frustrated. "If no one wants to fight with us, we'll go alone!" Inari finally shrieked, fed up with all the rejection and fiercely determined to defend his home. Mar was just as frustrated, grinding her teeth together as she swung a stick she'd found savagely. The weapon didn't matter, since it was more the show of numbers that had won that show down originally. It just felt good to beat someone with a blunt object when you were emotionally charged, and damn was Mar emotionally charged. "Let's go Inari." She said after their latest failure. "Inari you can't fight against Gato." One of his uncles told them gently, speaking as though he thought they were mentally unstable. Inari glared at the older man, "You've all become cowards! If you love something you have to protect it!" With those words, wise beyond his years, Inari turned away from the people he was fighting for and followed after Mar towards the bridge. Uncle stared off after them, shocked by Inari's words, before he smiled slightly and nodded. "Inari is right everyone. It's about time we took back what belongs to us."

Mar and Inari were nearly out of sight of the houses, when they were haled down. Turning around, Inari's eyes light up in wonder while Mar's shone with satisfaction. They had their army, and it was time to show those goons what these people were made of. They marched, as best a group of untrained civilians could at any rate, towards the bridge with a joint determination that was admirable. The bridge finally came into view, and the pace picked up until they could see the figures moving about atop it. Mar glared at the short form of Gato, not yet dead, as he hid in the center of his mob before Zabuza reached him. Mar gave a short delighted laugh as he was obviously killed, lifting the hand holding her weapon into the air in a sign of triumph. "Gato is taken care of, but those petty thugs are still a problem. Are we going to let them loot the village?" Mar asked what was essentially the makings of an unruly mob behind her. "No!" Was the resounding response, and Inari led the group onto the bridge behind the Konoha ninja.

"We'll just have to take what we're owed from that village." One of the silly grunts was saying as they arrived. Naruto, obviously enraged at the thought, steeled himself in preparation for the upcoming fight. The grunts charged with a battle cry of their own, only to stop short as an arrow landed directly in their path. Naruto spun on the spot, surprise written all over his face, only to have the biggest grin spread across it moments later. "Inari!"

"Sorry we're late, but the hero always arrives in the nick of time. Right, Naruto?" Inari said proudly, holding his crossbow tightly. Mar clapped a hand on his shoulder, the rest of the village spreading out behind them. Naruto grinned in response, turning back to the mob of thugs with renewed purpose. Making a hand sign Naruto made a few clones to aid him in battle. "I suppose I have just enough chakra to help out a bit." Kakashi mused as he made a miniature army of his own clones. Faced with the combined numbers of the villagers, ninja, ninja-clones and pissed looking foreign girl with a large stick, the goons decided life was not worth living and turned tail. "Forget this, it's not worth it!" One shrieked like a little girl as he dropped the mace he was holding and ran. Mar joined in the cheering when the last of them disappeared off the edge of the bridge, running over to Naruto. After seeing that he was indeed alright, Mar turned her attention to Sakura who was standing in front of Tazuna. Sakura was looking for Sasuke, however, and when she caught sight of him Mar could swear she heard a small strangled sound. Mar rushed after Sakura, kneeling next to Sasuke's body as well, and patted her shoulder. "It's okay, Sakura. I promise." Inari was leading the victorious villagers back to their homes, leaving the ninja on the bridge to deal with the aftermath.

Soon, it was quiet on the bridge save for Sakura's sobs. Mar wished she could just slap Sasuke awake already, and get that big reveal over with, but restrained herself. Drawing too much attention was generally a no-no. Mar looked around the bridge for a moment, trying to find where she fit in. Sakura was the first person she met here, the only one who seemed to have accepted her at this point. Sakura was busy mourning the 'death' of her 'beloved'. Mar had no interest in getting involved with that. Kakashi kept giving her odd looks that she wasn't supposed to notice but did anyway. Sasuke was unconscious, and even if he wasn't Mar was aware of the looks she was getting from him as well. It wasn't possible for her to be around Naruto. Mar had discovered yesterday that seeing the unfamiliarity in his eyes was entirely too painful.

Mar winced, walking off the bridge and heading back to Tazuna's. There really wasn't a place for her among them anymore. The bond her and Naruto had forged over those months where he'd been her pet, then her bestest buddy had never existed for him. The easy-going relationship she'd discovered with Kakashi was gone as well. Sakura had never really bothered with her all that much, so being around her wasn't as bad. Mar had discovered that younger Sakura wasn't as annoying as she had originally suspected, much to her delight. Sai wasn't in the picture yet, sadly, because that boy was so socially awkward anyway that Mar suspected that it wouldn't be any different whether he knew her or not. Sure, he'd been rather cuddly at some points, but that could have been a ruse Sai had picked up from somewhere in the same way he read about smiles in a book.

Thankfully, Mar had found a rather friendly group of ninja first because if the Akatsuki had found her first... Well, without the bonds she'd managed to forge the first time she'd met them, Mar was sure they would probably have killed her and fed her corpse to Zetsu. Now that everything had been reset, so to speak, that was still a very real possibility.

As she walked through the front door and continued into Sakura's room, Mar wished that she had paid more attention to how the Akatsuki timeline compared to the first series. Knowing where they were would really help with avoiding them now. It was then that Mar really understood that she had lost her boys, and what heartbreak felt like.

A/N This is actually a revised version of chapter three, since I decided last minute that I did not like the original direction of both this chapter and chapter four. Yes, I did just redo two chapters in a couple hours. I am so tired...


	4. Reforging a Bond

Shortly after Mar had settled down on the bed, she heard the front door open again. Sakura came bursting through the door, frantically looking around the room before seeing Mar and sagging in relief. "I didn't know where you went! Naruto told us about the swordsmen, and I looked around for you but you were gone!" Mar was staring at her, mouth open slightly. "I'm sorry, but you all seemed... occupied." Mar replied, regaining her composure. Sakura paused, obviously reconstructing the scene in her mind. "I guess... Oh! Sasuke-kun is okay! That masked kid just knocked him out like he did with Zabuza that time!"

"Who did what to who, when?" Mar asked, remembering that she hadn't arrived until after that fight. Sakura obviously remembered at that moment as well, because she flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, right. Well, Sasuke-kun is okay at any rate." Mar smiled crookedly at her, leaning back onto the pillow. "That's great, Sakura."

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked carefully, finally picking up on her mood. "I... don't know." Mar said honestly, staring at the ceiling. "My boys aren't looking for me, or they would have found me by now." Couldn't bring up the amnesia, because really how could she know that without having seen them? "I'm probably never going to see them again, and it hurts." Sakura looked sympathetic, having just gone through a slightly similar situation with Sasuke's 'death'. "Maybe they haven't been able to look for you." She suggested, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Mar shook her head, still staring at that one spot. "I don't think that's it. Thanks for the thought, though." Sakura left after that, leaving Mar to her thoughts.

"Is she here?" Naruto asked when Sakura reappeared. Kakashi was carrying Sasuke into the boys' room, seeing as moving caused all his muscles to burn. Multiple tiny holes punched into all the sensitive areas of the body would do that to you. Sakura nodded as she sat at the table. "Yeah, but she's pretty upset." Naruto looked at Sakura with wide eyes. "Why is she upset? We won! That Gato guy is gone, the bridge is gonna get done no sweat." Sakura sighed a long suffering sigh. "It has nothing to do with the mission, Mar isn't even a ninja!"

"Then what's her problem?" Naruto asked, chin resting on his folded arms. "I'm not going to talk about her business with you! If you want to know, go ask her yourself." Sakura snapped, getting up to pour herself a drink. Naruto glowered at the table. "I don't think Mar likes me. She's been avoiding me since she got here yesterday." Sakura took a sip, considering his words. "Yeah, I guess she has. Well, you can take that up with her too." Sakura said dismissively. Naruto glowered at Sakura for a minute, angry enough to override the crazy crush he has on her. "Why should I care about why some stupid girl who doesn't know me doesn't like me?" He muttered. Sakura sighed, "Obviously it bothers you, or you wouldn't be trying to set the table on fire with your glare." Sakura sighed again, putting her glass in the sink and moving to check on Sasuke. "Boys."

Naruto stayed seated for a couple more minutes. Finally, he jumped to his feet and dashed back to the girls' room, bursting through the door. "Why don't you like me?!" He demanded, unaware of the heart attack he'd just given Mar. "What are you talking about? Oh my goodness, that scared the crap out of me." Mar bent over clutching her heart, taking deep breaths. "Why don't you like me? What did I do to you?!" Naruto demanded again, pointing accusingly at her. Mar calmed down enough to get up off the floor where she'd landed when Naruto's entrance had caused her to fall off the bed. After she had reclaimed her spot on the bed, Mar looked at Naruto with a carefully neutral expression. "Who said I don't like you?"

"You don't want to be anywhere near me!" Naruto accused. "Every time we're in the same room, you either leave or hide in a corner!" Mar winced, feeling worse. She had hoped that Naruto would be too involved with the Zabuza situation to notice. He does have an obtuse reputation. "It's not that I don't like you! It's just..." Mar paused, not sure how to phrase this. "You remind me of a friend I had that I love very much. I just realized recently that he no longer has an interest in being my friend, and it's painful being reminded of him." Mar explained, figuring this was as good an excuse as any. Naruto relaxed out of his angry pose, lowering the arm he had been using to point, and gave Mar a sheepish look. "Oh. I'm sorry your friend is a bastard." Mar felt her lip twitch, amused at the irony of it all. "I'm sorry you thought I didn't like you!" She responded, leaning forward to pat the top of his head. Naruto scowled as he waved her hand away. Mar laughed as she used her other hand to ruffle his hair. "Would you stop that?!"

"I can't resist, you make the cutest face when you're annoyed." Mar smirked, watching his face turn a bright shade of red. Really, it didn't matter what age he was, making him turn different shades of pink never got old.


	5. Jailbreak

"This sucks!" Naruto screeched, flailing about on the bed. Shortly after his confrontation with Mar, Naruto's injuries had caught up with him. Adrenaline fading, all those hits he'd taken had knocked him flat on his back, so now poor Naruto found himself bedridden while Kakashi and Sakura finished up on the bridge. Mar was the warden, so to speak, making sure the two invalids stayed put. Yes, two. Sasuke found himself in the company of two people who had no real use for him. "Shut up already!" Sasuke snapped, throwing a pillow at Naruto's head. It slammed into his face, stopping his newest complaint mid-syllable. "Bastard! Why do I have to share a room with you?!"

"Because I have the only other room, and some people would find us sharing inappropriate." Mar said as she entered the room. "Hello, my name is Mar and I will be your jailor for the foreseeable future." Naruto and Sasuke both leveled a glare at her simultaneously. Naruto muttered something under his breath, staring glumly at his lap. Sasuke continued to give Mar a hard look, staring at her intently. "What is your malfunction?" Mar finally snapped, placing the tray of food she had brought at the foot of Naruto's bed. "Nothing." Sasuke muttered, turning away from her. "Lies. You've been giving me weird looks since you met me."

"It's nothing." Sasuke snapped back, giving her a trademark glare. "Weirdo."

"You're calling me weird? You're the one who's being weird." Mar said while staring at Sasuke in disbelief. "Moving on!" Mar grabbed the plates, placing them on each lap before picking up the empty tray and walking out. "What's your problem, Bastard?" Mar heard as she walked away. "Mind your own business, idiot." Mar shook her head as she reached the kitchen. "Are you sure you should be up and about?" Mar asked Tsunami, who was at the sink. That morning Mar had woken to the woman making breakfast. "I'm fine, I'd be going crazy cooped up in bed." Tsunami insisted, turning to smile at Mar. "I appreciate the concern though!" Mar gave her a dubious look, but then shrugged it off. Let the woman deal with traumatic experiences in her own way. "Where's Inari?" She asked instead. It had been quiet that morning, other than Naruto's loud complaints. Too quiet. "He's out in the village, helping prepare for the bridge's grand opening." Tsunami replied, scrubbing a pan. "It shouldn't take much longer for the men to finish it up." She continued, smiling at the thought.

Mar started drying the dishes as Tsunami finished them, and soon they were finished. With a goodbye to her hostess, Mar walked out of the house. Passing by the boys' window Mar suddenly heard a small noise. She looked up quickly and caught Sasuke trying to make an escape. "Back to bed, brat." Mar ordered, pointing through the open window. Ignoring her, Sasuke reached the ground and tried walking around her towards the bridge. "I don't take orders from civilians." Sasuke said, not bothering to look at her. Mar felt her lip twitch in extreme annoyance. "Okay, I get you don't like me. But you are in no shape to be walking around town. You look like a damn mummy, for god's sake." He did too, with rolls of bandages wrapped around most of his body. "I'm fine, mind your own business." Sasuke said lowly, trying to duck around her other side. Mar sighed, shaking her head at his stubbornness, before reaching out and poking two fingers into the most heavily bandaged area of Sasuke's body. With a hiss of pain, Sasuke grabbed his stomach as he hunched over. "It became my business when I was charged with your well-being. How ungrateful would I seem to Sakura if I let you do yourself damage?"

"What the hell does Sakura have to do with anything?!" Sasuke hissed, glaring through his bangs at her. "Well, I'm not doing this because of my feelings for you that's for sure." Mar said dryly, raising an eyebrow at him. Mar reached down and grabbed onto his upper arm, hefting him onto his feet and steering Sasuke back into the house. Back in his room, Naruto was sitting up in his bed grinning at Sasuke as he was escorted in. "I told you it wouldn't work." He gloated, leaning back onto his pillow. Sasuke glared at the blonde, climbing back into his own bed, and Mar swore she heard him growl. "Since you can't be trusted on your own, which I was warned about, I'll be keeping you company." Mar said cheerfully, plopping herself onto Naruto's bed. "No." Sasuke said bluntly.

"You have no say, you lost that privilege when you tried to pull a jailbreak."

"I can't stay in this room with him," a finger was jabbed in Naruto's direction. "or I will go insane."

"Hey! I don't want to be here with you anymore than you want to be here with me, bastard!"

"I'd rather be at home with my boys, but nobody hears me bitching now do they?" Mar snapped, giving each of them a hard look. "Your boys?"

"Remember the friend I told you about, Naruto? Well, he was part of a group." Mar said, shifting her eyes to the side. "Oh. I'm sorry." Mar patted him on the head. "It's fine, I'll get over it eventually." Not that she wanted to, but there's no going back without use of a few Sharingan. And where the hell would she get access to a few Sharigan at this point in time? Sasuke's is still at novice level, Kakashi still gives her iffy looks, and the other two Uchiha boys have no idea who she is. Talk about a lack of options.

The room lapsed into silence after that. Mar was mourning the untimely death of her iPod, which had died at the end of the first day of her three day walk. Music would have been a great- wait. Maybe she could charge the thing here. Pulling the charger out of her pocket, because she always carried that most beautiful thing with her, Mar found an outlet and plugged it in. Animal by Neon Trees started playing, breaking the silence. Her unwilling companions gave the small device an odd look, but didn't deign to mention it. Mar bounced in her seat, jamming to the music, momentarily content with her world.


	6. Homeward Bound

When the bridge was finally complete, and all the boys' injuries had healed sufficiently, the ninja found themselves standing on the mainland. It had seemed only appropriate for the ninja who had made the bridge possible to be the first to cross it. Inari and Naruto had their moment, tears running freely on that end of the group, and Sakura looked around. "Where's Mar?" She asked, unable to find the now familiar head of dark brown hair. They had all left Tazuna's house together, Kakashi leading the group, and somehow Sakura seemed to have lost track of the other girl. Naruto got a grip, rubbing his face to get rid of the tears, before looking around at those assembled. "Last time I saw her, she was walking behind Sasuke." He said, puzzled. "That odd friend of Sakura-chan's?" Tazuna asked, coming up behind Inari. "I saw her head off down the road shortly after we stopped." Sasuke, who had been off to the side in an attempt to escape the sappy sentimentality, came up on Sakura's other side. "Why didn't you mention that earlier?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at their former client. Sakura gave him a very confused look, but decided against commenting.

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning." Tazuna said, holding his hands up in the standard 'I surrender' pose. "Did she mention where she was going?" Sakura asked, glancing around quickly. It looked as though she were half expecting to see Mar running into the distance. "I didn't talk to her, I just noticed her leaving." Tazuna said, glancing away. Kakashi and Sasuke exchanged a look, the older male sighing before rubbing the back of his head. "I guess we'll just have to go after her, then." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief while Naruto looked adorably confused. "Why are we doing that, Kakashi-sensei? Mar isn't going back with us, is she?" Sakura bashed a fist into the back of his head. "Naruto! We can't let Mar-chan wander around by herself! What if something happens to her?!"

"Oh! Right, Mar-chan's a friend of yours Sakura-chan." Naruto exclaimed, rubbing the back of his skull. Sakura gave him a hard look, the very picture of intense anger. "Where should we start?" Sasuke asked, ignoring his teammates' antics. "Well, if she started straight off the bridge we should look for a trail leading from there." Kakashi said lazily. Moving back to the edge of the bridge, Kakashi leaning forward slightly and studied the ground. Crouching down, he took a hand out of one of his pockets and brushed it against a small mark. "Judging by these impressions I'd say Mar went that way." His students crowded around him, peering intently at what he had found. "How can you tell which sets of footprints are Mar-chan's?" Sakura asked, overwhelmed with the sheer number of marks around the bridge. Their little going away party had thoroughly trampled the area. "Simple, this set seems to be dancing away." The Genin blinked, before Sakura hung her head and sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like Mar alright."

"Here I go again on my own~!" Mar sang loudly, skipping down the road. "Going down the only road I've ever known~!" She stopped walking long enough for a quick wiggle. Before she got a chance to get moving again, Mar found her way blocked by a chest. "Well now, where were you planning on going all by yourself?" Mar looked up into Kakashi's smiling eye. "Haven't thought that far, yet." Mar said cheerfully, making as though to sidestep him. Sasuke was blocking that escape route. "Oh, c'mon. I'm trying to walk here." Naruto came up on her other side. "Why aren't you coming back with us? I thought you were a friend of Sakura-chan's." Mar shot Sakura a look. "She just said that so Tazuna would let me stay with you guys. I've only known her for a few days!"

"You lied, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, appalled. Sakura shifted uneasily. "I had to! She said she had no where else to go, and Tazuna wouldn't agree to it unless..." She fidgeted, a blush rising up her neck. "I'm not saying it was bad. Isn't deception part of your job description?" Mar said quickly, waving her hands in front of her. "So?" Kakashi asked, sounding almost lazily patient. "So, what?" Mar asked, still facing Sakura. "So are you coming or what?" Sasuke asked, gesturing impatiently. Mar stared at him, unnerved by his sudden interest in her. "Well?" He snapped, giving her an unbelievably annoyed look. Naruto and Sakura turned to stare at him as well, clearly not anticipating Sasuke's reaction to the situation. "What if I don't want to come with you?" Mar asked curiously, watching him closely. Something in the back of Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously, and Mar sighed. "I'll come, but only because you insisted." Kakashi patted her head, nudging Sasuke as he passed him, before gesturing for the others to follow him. Sasuke smirked at her as he turned to follow behind the others, leaving Mar to tag behind. She rubbed her temples and sighed deeply before jogging to catch up.

Something was off, and Mar wasn't sure if she liked it.

A/N So many ways I want this story to go, and so few ways I can take it... Decisions, decisions...


	7. Housemate

They had been walking all day. Mar had been jamming the entire time, but now her battery was once again dead. Boredom was never her friend. "Are we there yet? Please say yes." Kakashi sighed, rubbing his temples, before answering. "No, we are not there yet. We won't be for a few more hours."

"We'd get here faster if we didn't have to go so slow." Naruto muttered, kicking at a rock. "I'm sorry, did you just call me slow?" Mar asked sweetly. "We could go faster if, say, someone was kind enough to carry me." She gave Naruto the biggest, saddest eyes she could muster. If they were enough to get Hidan to bend to her will, once upon a time, then a softy like younger Naruto should be no problem.

"I'll do it." Naruto said, determination shining in those blue eyes. Mar grinned to herself, hopping onto his back and getting ready for the piggy-back ride of her life. Naruto leapt into the trees, the rest of the group following close behind, and Mar tightened her grip as they flew through the forest. This really was the only way to travel. Sakura caught up to Naruto, easily keeping pace with him, and smiled over at Mar. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Oh, hell yes. This is awesome." Mar replied, shouting over the sound of the wind. For a moment she really wished she had a pair of Obito's goggles. Or Naruto's, it didn't really matter which. Mar whooped as they went, hair being whipped into a horribly tangled mess, before burying her face into Naruto's neck. The wind was making her eyes water, and she couldn't even free an arm to wipe it away. Thankfully, though the damage was already done, the ride didn't last much longer after that. Before Mar knew it, Naruto was slowing down and came to a stop outside a very large and very familiar gate.

Naruto stooped over a bit so Mar could hop off, and the group moved forward towards said gate with Mar neatly wedged in the middle. The closer they got the more Mar fidgeted, before Sakura grabbed onto her hand. "It'll be fine, we'll just have to go report to the Hokage."

"That's the part that's making me nervous." Mar said, fidgeting even more.

Soon, too soon for Mar's liking, they were being admitted to the Hokage's office and he was regarding them all with a serious expression. Mar looked away, seeing the Third alive being just a tad too surreal for her, and studied the pictures on the walls. There were several of the Third's family, most likely taken before Konohamaru's parents had died. "And who is this?" Mar's attention was reclaimed when everyone turned to study her.

"This is Mar, Hokage-sama. Sakura-chan encountered her in Wave several days after we arrived, lost and with out a place to go. Our client agreed to house her temporarily, and it was later decided to bring her back to Konoha when our mission was finished." Kakashi said, his eye regarding her lazily. Sarutobi studied the small girl who was playing with her fingers nervously. "I see. And what were you planning in doing once you arrived in the village, Miss Mar?"

"I wasn't actually planning on being here, so I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do now, sir." It sounded as though Mar had tacked 'sir' onto the end as an afterthought. "She can stay with me." Sasuke spoke up, moving to the front from the corner he'd found. Mar stared at him, alarmed at the offer and slightly suspicious of Sasuke's recent behavior. "Why with you, Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked from behind steepled fngers, a gleam in his eyes. "I'm currently living in the Uchiha compound alone, there are plenty of empty buildings for Mar to choose from." Sasuke explained, hands shoved into the pockets of his shorts. Mar must point out that seeing him in his Genin outfit is a rather interesting experience. She hadn't seen it since the third Chuunin Exam, and it was making a comeback. Sakura was giving Mar a rather murderous look, which Mar wasn't sure whether to take seriously or not, and Kakashi was giving Sasuke a rather self satisfied look.

It would appear that Kakashi had gotten some type of confirmation from the younger male. "Well, if Sasuke-kun is fine with that arrangement I see no reason not to allow it." Sarutobi finally announced, placing his hands on the desk in front of himself, palms down. Mar opened her mouth, intent on refusing the offer, but Sasuke elbowed her harshly in the ribs. Wincing, Mar shut her mouth and pressed a hand into the new sore spot on her side. "Okay, sure. I'll stay with Sasuke, why not." Sarcasm was dripping from her words, but the adults pretended not to notice. The ninja were dismissed, and Sasuke started herding Mar down the street. Sakura tried to follow along, but Naruto blocked her exit and started jabbering a mile a minute and soon Sakura lost sight of them.

Mar sighed as her one chance of rescue was thwarted.


	8. Exploration and Discovery

They arrived at the compound, and Mar was startled at the size of it. It was briefly shown in various Massacre flashbacks, but it wasn't explored enough to really impress on you just how much it appeared to be a small village of it's own. Mar regarded the houses laid out on several streets, surrounded by a low wall, and hung her head in defeat. 'At least there's enough space that I won't be running into Sasuke all the time.' Mar thought to herself, trying to cheer herself up. Really, all the ninja she could be finding herself living with and she gets stuck with the one she can't stand.

"Okay, which one are you in?" Mar asked him, looking around. "What does it matter?" Sasuke asked impatiently, starting down a road. "I want the house farthest from yours." Mar said lightly, following along behind him. 'They want me to live in a place where people were violently killed. Right.' Sasuke looked over his shoulder at her, "For someone who can't get far enough away from me, you're sticking close behind me."

"I get the feeling that if I get lost here, I'll never be seen or heard from again." Mar muttered, looking around at all the silent houses. The windows looked like blank eyes staring back at her. "Don't be an idiot, nothing's going to happen to you here." Sasuke said, giving her an annoyed look. "How do you know? Have you been in all these potential serial killer hidey-holes?" Mar snapped back, returning his annoyed look with one of her own.

Sasuke shook his head, turning back around and continuing on his way. Mar rolled her eyes at him, glancing around again before gathering whatever courage she had and walking off. Sasuke had gone left from the entrance, so Mar spun around and started walking away from him. The only positive side to this whole situation was the size of this place. Mar really could avoid social situations if she wanted, the compound was more than large enough to hide her.

On her quest to find a habitable domain, Mar stumbled upon the training grounds in the far corner. This just begged the question, dare she enter? On the one hand, it didn't look like anyone had used it in a long while. Yet it could also have traps left over from the days when people actually used it. Did she want to risk a horrible death just for the sake of a remote place to live? Not really. Mar decided to skirt around the edge of the large field, continuing her search.

The perfect building was waiting for her just on the other side of the training grounds, hallelujah, and Mar promptly set to work claiming it as her own. The interior was tidy, yes, but it hadn't been cleaned in who knew how long so everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. Mar rolled up her sleeves, pulled her hair up out of the way and started looking for some supplies. Finding a few rags and discovering that the water was still on, Mar set to work on straightening up the living room. One by one, Mar tackled all the rooms on the ground floor. It took hours, and by the time she'd finished with the kitchen Mar was more than ready for lunch. Pity the kitchen was empty.

"Now would be a great time for a turkey sandwich." Mar sighed, collapsing into a chair. "Does that mean I have good timing?" A voice asked from the doorway. "Depends. Who goes there?" Kakashi walked into the room, eye smiling at her as he held out a wrapped plate. "Oh, look. It's my savior. Have I told you lately that you're awesome?" Kakashi chuckled as he placed the plate down in front of Mar. "No, I don't think you have. So, did you find a place far enough from Sasuke?"

"No, I wanted to keep going but a potentially trapped area got all up in my way." Mar said cheerfully, attacking the sandwich. "But this will do quite nicely, as soon as I handle the rest of the dust." Kakashi leaned against the wall, hands stuffed in his pockets. "You also need to stock the kitchen, if all you can do is wish for sandwiches. I won't always be here to magically obtain one for you."

"A minor misstep! I need clothes, too." Mar mused, ripping off another bite. "After rolling in all those dust bunnies I feel like a grub."

"That can be arranged as well, I'm sure." Kakashi assured her, watching the last bite get stuffed into her face in amusement. "Oh?" Mar asked, swallowing roughly before coughing. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"He means that I'm kidnapping you for a shopping trip!" Another voice piped in from behind her. Mar jumped clear off the chair, landing with a harsh thump on the floor. "What the hell?" Sakura gasped, hands covering her mouth as she watched Mar fall. "Are you okay?" Sakura rushed over to help Mar to her feet. "Depends, can I now out of that shopping trip?" After taking several shopping trips with each transformation, Mar was thoroughly shopped out. "Do you want to go naked?" Kakashi asked cheerfully, still eye smiling at Mar. Mar gave him a sour look in return. "Not really, no."

"Then we're going shopping." Sakura said firmly, taking hold of Mar's arm and yanking her back out of the house. 'Life? Yeah, I hate you.'

A/N I blame the Pokemon, because the new versions are stealing me away. Watch me go, lol.


	9. DunDunDun

Four stores. Mar had been forcibly dragged into four stores, and blackmailed into trying on every outfit in her size, and Mar was quite ready to screech. Shrilly. In someone's ear. To further sully her mood, Kakashi was following along behind them to 'prevent any escapes'. Mar was sure he was just enjoying watching her suffer. Finally, finally, they were done. Mar was sure that most of these clothes would never see the light of day, being as they made her very uncomfortable, but Sakura would not take no for an answer. That girl's future husband had better look out. "Done?" Mar asked hopefully, wilting slightly. "Done." Sakura agreed, shoving all the bags into Mar's hands. "You can run away now."

Mar felt her face twitch as her irritation was quickly replaced with amusement. With a sloppy salute, seeing as the weight of the bags prevented her from lifting her arm high enough, Mar turned back the way they had come and jogged away. Crazy ass ninja and their equally crazy shopping sprees. Made her glad that she'd never 'cured' kitty-Sakura. That shopping trip would have given her nightmares.

Running through the village, since Mar had been led to the exact opposite end from the Uchiha compound, she ducked around people who dared walk into her path. Seriously, how could they not see her coming? "Oh my god lookout!" Mar exclaimed, clutching the bags to her chest as she tried to stop. Throwing herself backwards, baseball style, Mar effectively slid to a stop before she knocked the woman over. "Safe!" Mar yelled, sprawling out on the ground. "What's the rush?" Mar heard above her, a shadow covering her face. "I'm making my grand escape."

"Escape?" The doubt was clearly heard. "Yes, escape. Not much of one though." Mar sighed, opening her eyes. Anko was gazing down at her, a skeptical look on her face. Mar felt a groan try to bubble its way out, but she suppressed it with a hand over her face. "Whatcha running from, kid?" Again with the kid, why can't she ever get away from the kid? "A couple ninja took me shopping at knife point." Anko's other eyebrow rose to meet her hairline. "Really."

"Well, not really, but they might as well have." Mar allowed, sitting up and brushing herself off. Levering herself up onto her feet, Mar stretched out the kinks in her spine before gathering up the bags she had dropped. "Now, if you don't mind I have to continue on my way. Before the big bad ninja decide they haven't actually finished with me." Mar flinched at the thought of repeating the whole process. She was sure that there were stores Sakura had skipped purely for her sake, and god help her if Sakura changed her mind. Mar's head whipped back and forth as she quickly got her bearings, and she then started running the way she had previously been headed.

"Haven't seen you around before." Mar squeaked as Anko spoke right next to her ear. Glancing to the side, Mar swallowed as she realized the ninja was effortlessly keeping pace with her. "I just got here, actually." Mar replied, skidding around a corner. Anko continued to follow her, stalk dare I say, and soon Mar found herself outside the compound. "Well, it's been lovely leading you around the village but I'm afraid I have just arrived home." Mar fidgeted as Anko fixed her with a very hard stare. "You live here?"

"Actually, an acquaintance of mine insisted I stay with him, because he's a spoiled brat." Mar said flatly, with an expression to match. "Who's a spoiled brat?" Mar glanced over her shoulder to see Sasuke sitting on the wall behind her. 'Of course.' Mar flashed a smile at him. "No one you know, dear." Sasuke shook his head, "Yeah, I'm sure." He hopped off the wall then started through the entrance, looking over his shoulder at her. "You coming?" Mar nodded, looking to Anko and mouthing, 'Save me'.

Anko laughed as she walked away. "Good luck, kid." Mar sighed as she lifted the bags higher and turned to follow Sasuke. So much for her ninja free retreat. "Were you waiting on that wall the whole time?" She asked, nearly tripping over her own feet. "Not the whole time, no. Do you need help with that?" Sasuke asked, watching as Mar nearly fell over the bags yet again. "If you're offering." Mar said gratefully. "Sakura is certifiably insane, I swear."

"You don't need to tell me, I'm on a team with her."

"You noticed? And here I thought you were too absorbed in your own problems to notice petty things like that." Mar was trying to untangle herself from the bags' handles. One caught on her wrist, and no matter how hard she shook it the stupid plastic would not come free. Another pair of hands appeared as they caught her wrist and untangled it. "Thanks." Mar sighed with relief, rubbing the feeling back into her fingers. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he lifted the bags and started walking.

Sasuke soon led her to the house she had chosen earlier. "How do you...? Y'know what, I don't want to know." Mar used a foot to nudge open the door, and Sasuke walked through in front of her. Mar walked through the house, closing all the windows she had left open to air the place out (because old bad habits died hard), and dumped the bags in a corner of her room. She would deal with them after she got Sasuke out of the house.

This was supposed to be a ninja free zone.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you again and all. This morning was so long ago and everything. But I have a need of a shower, and you have a need to leave..." Mar tried herding him to the door, but Sasuke was immovable. It didn't help that Mar had a distinct lack of upper body strength. "I can wait while you do what you have to." Mar blinked. "Why?"

"I have a question for you. It can't wait." Well, damn.


	10. Sharingan Blues

"Well, if it can't wait would you like me to answer it now? I plan on drowning myself in the shower, so after the shower might too late." Sasuke shook his head at her, "I have this weird feeling, like I've seen you before." He began, pinning her with one of his patented looks. "I keep seeing flashes of scenes, as though I were watching from a low spot, with you and Naruto. Sometimes there are others, people I've never seen before." Mar opened her mouth, trying to think of something to say. "Are you sure you're not just remembering a dream, or something?" This was dangerous, very dangerous. Sasuke couldn't seriously be remembering things, right? "It doesn't feel like a dream, but it doesn't feel like a memory exactly." Sasuke frowned, focusing on a point directly in front of him as he tried to think it through. "Naruto looks older, for one thing."

Okay, maybe he is remembering some things. Vaguely, and in bits and pieces, but it's coming through. Why him, though? Sasuke had been a cat the entire time he'd been in her care, except for the few moments right before the technique that landed her in this mess. Mar had only cured him because Pein and Itachi had insisted that his Sharingan was needed for the show to get on the road. And why now, of all times? Mar could tell that he hadn't recognized her when Sakura had first introduced her at Tazuna's place. The odd looks hadn't started until... Until...

"When did the flashes start?" Mar asked, mouth going dry. If she was adding all the numbers right, and she didn't even know if she had the right numbers, then Mar had an idea of what the hell was up. Sasuke's eyebrows knit together, and his frown deepened as he tried to pinpoint the start of his discomfort. "You started to seem, familiar, the day after that fight on the bridge." Mar frowned in turn, thinking furiously. Damn, no matter which way she sliced it... "Did anything odd happen on the bridge?" Mar asked warily.

Sasuke paused, "The only thing that changed during that fight was..." His Sharingan. He got his Sharingan, that was the only thing different from when they were introduced and she started noticing the odd looks. Sasuke came to the same conclusion, at nearly the same time as well, and he shook his head. "Have you asked Naruto about it?" Mar asked curiously. "You saw him there, right?"

"I tried asking him, but he's too much of an idiot to understand what I'm talking about." Sasuke dismissed, waving a hand at her. Mar felt her lip twitch. "Maybe you just failed at asking the question." She said, defending Naruto regardless of whether he was still her bestest buddy or not. Naruto really wasn't as stupid as people thought. He's just... slow. Yeah, slow. Sasuke glared at her, which was more impressive when he wasn't a cat Mar noticed, and chose to ignore that statement. Sasuke was an Uchiha after all, and Uchiha did not fail. "Have you brought it up to anyone else?" Mar sighed, no longer interested in the conversation. Oh, she had her theories, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to share them with Sasuke. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff aside, Mar wasn't sure exactly how much Sasuke was remembering. No need to reveal something he doesn't already know, vaguely.

"I tried asking Kakashi-sensei." Mar's ears perked up at that. "He just gave me that lazy smile of his before patting my head and telling me not to worry about it." Sasuke's entire face twitched. Really, his entire face. Mar was fascinated with the mechanics of that. "Patted you on the head? Seriously?" Mar asked, a laugh bubbling just below the surface. Sasuke must have heard it, because he glowered at her. Mar swore she heard a growl, but it wasn't loud enough to prove in a court of law. Not that those exist here, anyway.

"So that thing that changed on the bridge, which you have no intention of telling me about I guess, does it involve Kakashi?" Mar asked innocently. Sasuke opened his mouth instantly, to deny the possibility most likely, but paused. A look of dawning understanding crossed his face before Sasuke got up and walked out the door. Just like that, no good bye or anything. "Yeah, nice talking to you too." Mar muttered, finally heading up to take that shower.

If their memories were Sharingan activated, then this was going to be an interesting few months.


	11. Unsolvable Puzzle

After the best shower in history, Mar emerged from the bathroom to discover that it had gotten dark. The longest day in history was finally coming to an end. With her iPod playing in the background, Mar got into her pajamas and started to settle down for the night. Laying in bed, music playing softly as per usual, Mar found herself staring at the ceiling. Groaning in annoyance, she flipped over onto her side in a vain attempt to get comfortable. When that failed Mar flipped over to the other side, which also proved to be in vain, and finally sat up in bed.

'Hopeless. This is hopeless.' Mar climbed off the bed, grabbing one of the sweaters Sakura had gotten her earlier, and walked out of the house. Mar had yet to properly explore the village, so she didn't have a set insomnia route yet, but now was as good a time as any. Heading out of the compound, which was a journey in itself, Mar picked a path and set off.

Pressing play, Mar frowned when 'Unbreak my Heart' by Toni Braxton started playing in her ears. Shaking her head, Mar got ready to change it but then thought better of it. A melancholy song every now and then never hurt, right? Swaying along to the melody, Mar made her way down the main street. Her already iffy mood started sinking as she went. Mar did have a pretty good idea of what was causing her sleepless night, after all. Not that she had a broken heart, per say, but she did miss her boys. Now she had to get used to sleeping in an empty house all over again.

When Mar started in on the second chorus, since it was impossible for her not to sing along, a noise came from behind her. "Trouble sleeping?" Mar peered over her shoulder, shrugging when Kakashi came into view. "It happens." She replied, continuing on her way. Kakashi fell into step beside her, hands in his pockets and eye closed. Show off. The walk was silent, just the sound of Mar's headphones coming from her ears, until Kakashi broke it. "Any reason why you can't sleep?" Mar didn't bother looking up. "Just not used to an empty house, I guess." It was too quiet, and there was all this empty space around her. Mar was not accustomed to the wide range of motion.

"Maybe you should have taken Sasuke up on his offer." Kakashi said mildly, looking at her sideways.

"I did. I'm staying with him."

"I think he meant in the same house." Kakashi informed her, using the voice usually reserved for 'Naruto's Explanation.' For an easy-going guy, Kakashi could be awfully sarcastic. "I knew that. I was misunderstanding on purpose." Mar said lightly. "I'm not sure how I'd like sharing space with Sasuke."

"I can imagine. He has done, or should I say will do, some pretty horrible things." Kakashi agreed, just as lightly as Mar. Spine stiffening in alarm, damn ninja taking her by surprise, Mar turned to stare at Kakashi. Pausing in her walk, Mar gave the man her full attention. "What do you remember, exactly? Sasuke only remembers bits and pieces, for whatever reason, but it sounds like you recall more." Kakashi sighed, head bowing for a second, and when he lifted it again his expression was hard. "I don't really recall much, though I do clearly recall Sasuke's defection." Kakashi's eye turned to her. "I also remember spending a bit of time with you, though as I remember it you spent the most time with Naruto. From our team of course." Mar grinned. "Yeah, I believe Tobi got the ribbon for the most time spent with me, period." At the end, the few final weeks before this all started, Tobi had been practically attached to her. "Do you remember anything after the failed Sasuke retrieval?"

Kakashi paused. "No, I don't. I remember carrying Naruto back to the village, and him leaving on his trip with Jiraiya, but I can't recall what happened after the training trip." Mar bit her lip, trying to think through the new information. "I think the memories are Sharingan related, 'cause Sasuke didn't start getting flash forwards until he activated his on the bridge." Mar narrowed her eyes, staring into space as she tried to think of an explanation that made some sense. "Maybe the reason behind our spotty memories is the stage of the Sharingan?" Kakashi offered helpfully. Mar blinked, turning back to him. "The stage? Oh, you mean the level of it! Like the Mangekyō."

It made some sense, Mar supposed. The Sharingan gave it's wielder an uncanny ability to copy anything it sees, if Sasuke's clever use of it during the first Chuunin exam was any indication. Kakashi was also able to remember the techniques he copied, so it also helps with memorization, burning the information into the brain more or less.

Mar was just unsure if that only applied to things observed with the Sharingan, or if it could apply to other things. "So when all you Sharingan people manage to train your eyes back up to the level you had during Shippuden... Will you remember more of what happens in the future?" Mar questioned. This whole situation was making her head pound.

"Hold up! Does that mean that Itachi remembers everything?! His Sharingan was fully developed at this point in time, right?" Mar had gone very still. If Itachi remembered everything, what would he do? Stick to the script, so to speak, and just replay what he had already done the first time around? And what about Tobi? His Sharingan was at least at Itachi's level, if not more advanced. "But why is the Sharingan the key to this puzzle?" Mar mused, talking mostly to herself.

"I'm too tired to deal with unsolvable puzzles right now." Mar whined, rubbing her eyes with the hell of her palm. "Go to bed, Mar." Kakashi said, giving her a lazy smile. "I guess I can try again." Mar mumbled, yawning as she turned around. "Night, 'Kashi."

"Night, Mar." Kakashi replied, sounding amused.

A/N There is a method to my madness, I promise.


	12. Mistaken

The next morning was a very groggy one. Mar rolled off the bed, landing in her usual crouch, then made her way to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the lukewarm water wasn't enough to wake her up. Mar grumbled as she was tossing clothes about the room, trying to find an outfit with her eyes closed. When she was finally situated, Mar walked out of the compound and headed towards the playground she had briefly seen last night. Stumbling down the road, blind, Mar suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder stop her. The owner of said hand tried spinning her around, but Mar was tougher than she looked and refused to move.

"Come on, Momo!" A strange voice said, sounding plaintive. It was most definitely a male voice, and Mar finally deigned to open her eyes so as to properly glare at him. "Excuse me, but would you let go?" She said forcefully, jerked her shoulder out of his hand. His eyes widened in alarm, "Momo? What's the matter?"

"I'm not whoever Momo is." Mar snapped, already grouchy from being tired and now royally pissed from being accosted on the street. The alarm on his face swiftly changed to concern. "I think I'd know my own girlfriend."

"I think I'd know if I had a boyfriend." Mar replied, turning to go. She walked swiftly away, her indifferent mood thoroughly ruined. Finally arriving at the playground without further incident, Mar claimed the swing and started up the whole swinging process. When she'd reached a decent height Mar let go of the chains and swung herself off the seat, flying through the air before landing neatly on her feet. Not even the feeling of flying could help her mood. Seriously, who the hell mistakes someone for somebody else and refuses to admit they were wrong?

As the morning wore on the playground began to fill with kids, all of them obviously ninja hopefuls if the target practice was any indication, and Mar soon found herself sitting on a bench. The swing had been commandeered by a particularly adorable small child, and Mar had decided against the sandbox. Leaning back on the bench, Mar closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Momo!" The deep breath was let out with a curse. "Momo, is everything all right? You were acting oddly this morning." Mystery moron was using a voice laced with concern.

"I have no idea who you are, so leave me alone." Mar said slowly, trying to keep calm. Mar heard him sit next to her before she bothered to look down. "I said leave me alone."

"I heard you, but I can't leave you alone when you're obviously having some type of crisis." His entire posture just screamed 'concerned significant other'. "I'm not having a crisis beyond the stupid stalker who insists on talking to me." Mar had had enough stupidity for one morning, and she made her escape. Running down a few side streets, Mar reached the bridge where her team usually met up just in time to see Kakashi arrive just exactly two hours late. Continuing onto the bridge Mar ducked behind Naruto, peering over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't actually being followed.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, sounding annoyed.

"Hiding."

"What are you hiding from." He persisted when no further explanation came. Mar tilted her head to look over her shoulder at him. "There's a weirdo following me around insisting I'm his girlfriend." Sasuke blinked. This was clearly not the answer he was expecting. "Why?"

"How should I know? I think he's convinced that I'm having an identity crisis or something. He won't take 'buzz off' for an answer." Mar was glaring in the general direction of where she'd last seen the weirdo. "Are you his girlfriend?" Naruto asked, trying to look over his shoulder at her. "No. I don't associate with obviously crazy people." Mar denied vehemently. "I prefer my crazy to be subtle." Kakashi radiated amusement, giving her an eye smile when Mar turned to look at him. "It's not funny."

"It's very funny." Kakashi replied casually. "Who does he think you are?"

"Some chick named Momo." Mar muttered, starting to believe she'd finally lost him. "And you are sure this isn't you?" Kakashi continued, ignoring her look of outrage. "Of course I know my own name!"

"Momo!" The string of curses that streamed out of Mar's mouth nearly made the bridges paint peel. "This isn't funny anymore! I was going to play along until you'd had enough, but this is ridiculous."

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, moving to block his path. "I'm Itami, who are you?" Itami was glaring down at Sasuke, seeing as how he was taller, annoyed that a little brat would block his path. Mar studied her stalker, safely tucked behind Naruto (he really made the best human shield). Itami was tall, probably in his late teens. Dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes with a slim physique. Damn, he was good looking. Crazy, but good looking.

"Hey, why are you stalking Mar?" Naruto asked, giving Itami a stern look. The look was so out of place on Naruto's face that Mar had a hard time keeping hers straight. "I'm not stalking anyone! I'm trying to talk to my girlfriend!" Itami yelled before pausing, "Wait, who's Mar?" His eyes turned to Mar, who had raised her hand. "No. Your name is not Mar, it's Momo." If there was an award for 'most intentionally dense' Itami would have won it, hands down.

"Go away." Mar said bluntly, voice flat. Sasuke and Sakura moved to stand next to Naruto, blocking Mar from Itami's view. Itami looked from one face to the next before growling in frustration and turning to leave. "Fine, but I'm not giving up, Momo."

"I am not Momo!" Mar shrieked as he left. Kakashi's amusement doubled. "I don't think you've heard the last of him, Momo."

"I hate you, Kakashi."


	13. Arch- What?

Finally rid of her stalker, Mar left the safety of her human shield and continued to wander the village. Successfully locating all the major points in the village, Mar continued her self-tour by randomly picking a direction and meandering away. Sometime during her wandering, during which her music was effectively rendering her deaf, Mar became aware of someone following her. It wasn't Itami, as no one had tried to molest her face yet, or her ninja either. Let's face it, if it was ninja there was no way she'd notice they were there.

Left eye twitching a bit in annoyance, mostly at her lack of peace and quiet, Mar decided to ignore the shadowy figure who was obviously tailing her. Seriously, if this guy was any more obvious he'd have a neon sign hovering over his head. Mar sighed as she turned onto a more deserted road, more of an alley really, and turned off the music in favor of not being snuck up on. If she was taken by surprise again Mar probably would have that heart attack. Not the best way to go.

Halfway through the alley, whoever it was behind her made himself known. Well, herself actually. "Momo! Why are you avoiding Itami?!" A loud groan worked it's way out of Mar despite her valiant attempts to squash it. "Who are you? The chick he has fighting his battles now?"

"No! It's me! Your arch-rival, and the one you stole Itami from!" Mar stared at the other girl, who had adopted what seemed to be one of Gai's poses, in a mixture of shock and fear. 'Momo had an arch-rival? Oh, god no.' Clearing her throat in an attempt to settle herself, Mar waved an arm in a lazy arc. "So, crazy chick, you got a name?" Crazy chick didn't appear too fond of her new nickname. "Megami!" She snapped, gesturing wildly with both her arms. A passerby was nearly slapped in the face. "Stop kidding around, Momo! Have you finally decided to acknowledge my superiority, and surrender Itami to me?!"

"Are you saying you and Momo were fighting over that guy?" Mar asked, voice rising with every word. The concept of anyone wanting to fight over Itami made her skull ache. Megami scowled, finger pointing upwards. "Don't play dumb! Just admit that you saw the error of your ways, and give up on Itami!"

"You can have him."

"Wait... what?" Megami had been about to continue her wild rant, but her argument derailed at Mar's statement. "Really? You give up, just like that?" Mar nodded, examining her nails. "But... you've been fawning over him for years!" Mar had a sudden mental image of Sakura and Ino fighting over Sasuke and felt very ill. "Don't care. He's a loser, you can have him." Megami seemed lost, she was staring at Mar blankly still in her Gai pose. When she still hadn't snapped out of it after a few minutes, Mar shrugged and walked around her. It was another fifteen or so minutes before Megami blinked, looked around to discover Mar's absence, and walked away herself.

By that time, Mar had gotten hungry enough to warrant a trip somewhere for dinner. And where would any self respecting Naruto fan to for dinner? Exactly, Ichiraku's it is! Plopping herself down on a stool, feet swinging a good foot off the ground, Mar hummed to herself as she waited to be acknowledged. Someone sat on her left, which she ignored in favor of ordering. After Teuchi had gone to get her ramen, the person taking up space next to her knocked an elbow into her side. Mar was beginning to think she'd been cursed. "Oh, I'm sorry." A familiar voice apologized. 'That is not Iruka, because that would not be cool.'

Mar took the apology, but refused to turn and look. If it was who she thought it was, she did not want to know. So the rest of her meal was spent in nice peaceful silence, until the ramen was finished and Mar was just about to leave. Before she'd done more than get off the stool, an orange blur shot under the cloth and rammed her into the counter. "Naruto, watch where you're going!" Teuchi and Iruka said simultaneously. Mar had remained where she'd ended up, draped over the countertop with a rather sour expression on her face. "I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning." She muttered, drumming her fingers a few times.

"Mar-chan! Are you okay?!" It would seem that Naruto had noticed who he'd nearly killed. He had a look of panic on his face, which was accented by the death grip both his hands had on his hair. It was actually a rather amusing sight, really. Mar mused that she'd probably have enjoyed it more if her day hadn't been so entirely awful. "Yeah, Naruto, I'm fine." Mar sighed, resting her head on the counter. She had yet to move from where she'd landed. It didn't seem worth it to her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked her, looking over her position. "You don't look okay." Iruka was looking between the two, obviously wondering how Naruto knew the strange girl. And she was definitely strange, seeing as she was still laying where she'd been knocked over. "Are you going to introduce your friend, Naruto?" He prompted. Naruto jumped, obviously having forgotten Iruka was there. "Oh! This is Mar-chan. She's staying with Sasuke." Iruka barely registered Mar slapping a hand to her face, too busy trying to make sense of the introduction Naruto had just provided.

"Yes, I'm sure I'm fine. It's just been a horrible day." Mar pushed herself upright, patted Naruto on the head a few times, and nodded in a still rather shell shocked Iruka's direction before making her way back to Sasuke's. Mar had had more than enough adventure for one day.


	14. Mind Blown

The next day dawned and it was light, bright, and sparkling with sunbeams dancing and birds singing. There was also the sound of something metal thudding against what sounded like wood, but that was most likely coming from the training grounds. It took a good five minutes for groggy Mar to realize why that was odd. Eyebrows knitting together in confusion Mar made her way to the window and stared intently at the trees, trying to peer through them into the training grounds that should be deserted. Another five minutes of heavy debate ended when Mar decided to bite the bullet and venture outside. It was a cat curiosity killed, yes?

Leaning around a tree, which was wider than Mar thought possible, she peered into the clearing and groaned when Sasuke came into sight. "Why? All the places you could go, why here?" Sasuke looked up at her, interrupted mid-throw, and just stared. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to answer the question Mar clenched her jaw and turned to leave again. "Did he follow you home?" The sound of Sasuke speaking caused Mar to stop in her tracks. "What?"

"Did that weirdo follow you here?" Sasuke repeated, annoyance ringing clearly in his voice. Mar blinked, trying to remember what happened last night. "I.. don't think so?" She frowned. "I was too annoyed with life to really pay attention." Sasuke shook his head, turning back to what he was doing. Mar stood and watched for a moment, amused at his concern, before turning back and heading into her home. He was worried about her, how adorable.

Mar got breakfast, eating at the speed of light, and soon found herself at the door once again debating with herself. Should she go out, possibly being accosted by the weirdos once again, or does she stay put and avoid all the hassle? Mar was sure that staying put would be horribly boring. She didn't even have her Harry Potter to keep her company. On the other hand, if Itami dared to try molesting her face again, Mar would end up on trial for murder. Boredom, life in prison, boredom...

With a sigh, and a sense of impending doom, Mar opened the door and headed towards the village. Ducking her head to try and avoid detection, Mar quickly made her way through the crowds and finally found the park she had been chased from yesterday. Finding a bench, and double checking her surroundings, Mar sat herself down and proceeded to reflect on her dilemma. Home, her actual home not the one she'd recently adopted, and how to get there. Not that she didn't appreciate the ability to do what fans everywhere would kill to do, but Mar wasn't really interested in being a ninja. Or having an epic adventure, for that matter. Epic adventures tend to be accompanied by ridiculously high death tolls. Mar was a bit too attached to her skin to risk it.

Her musings on home morphed into musings on how she was destined to never know a peaceful day in her life, due to the shadow that fell over her face. Opening her eyes, Mar found herself staring up into an all too familiar face. "I am not your girlfriend, go away." Itami flinched at the deathly cold tone of voice, but refused to retreat. He was a bigger idiot than Mar originally thought. "I've decided that you aren't pretending not to recognize me, and therefore must have amnesia!" Itami announced, ignoring the people who stopped to stare at his rather loud proclamation. Mar just stared at him, a chill running through her as she caught on to where this was going. "So, I'm going to remind you of all the memories we have-"

"No." Mar interrupted, a look of horror on her face. "There is no way I would be able to stand being around you for that." Itami flinched again, hurt flashing across his face. Mar pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remember why murder was bad. "I am not who you think I am, and telling me I'm too stupid to know my own identity is not the best way to go about 'wooing' me." She finally settled on saying, standing with the final word and stalking off while Itami was still too stunned to stop her.

Mar should have known by now not to trust her first instinct as far as decision making was concerned. It never worked out well for her. "That was harsh." Mar spun around, a small sound escaping her that might have been a shriek in a past life. Kakashi was standing there, looking amused at her reaction. Ninja will be the death of her.

"Something told me that harsh was the only real way to deal with that guy. Seriously." Mar dismissed the whole situation with a wave of her hand. "So, you have been following me. Sasuke put you up to it?" Kakashi chuckled, accepting her topic change. "No, he didn't. It was all my own idea." Mar blinked, the provided answer entirely unexpected. "I actually thought of a question for you." Kakashi continued, walking up to Mar and gesturing for her to continue her walk. "Okay, shoot."

"Wasn't your hair blonde, right before we left?" Kakashi asked pleasantly. "Not that I don't like the current color, but it's rather odd." Mar paused, pulling a strand in front of her face to get a good look at it. "Now that you mention it..." Mar had bleached it, for her costume. So, it stands to reason that it should still be blonde and not the dark brown it currently was. "I have no idea." She said absently, twisting the hair between her fingers. "I thought it was strange," Kakashi began, still using that pleasant tone. "that two people would be so convinced that they know you, or rather, that you were someone else. So, I did a little research." Mar dropped the hair, turning to look at Kakashi as they walked along. "There is a person named Momo living in the village. According to her file, she attended the Academy before failing to pass the final exam and dropped out of the program. Momo then proceeded to find a job, and a boyfriend as you've discovered."

Mar was staring at Kakashi now, frozen in place. Kakashi stopped walking a few paces in front of her, turning to face her. "Was there a photo?" Mar asked, her voice sounding distant to her own ears. Kakashi smiled at her before nodding and pulling a picture out of one of his many pockets. Mar reached for it, feeling as though she were about to be given a death sentence. Looking down, Mar stared at her own face wearing a confident grin she wasn't aware she was capable of. "When we ended up with you, it was as cats. Do you remember why we thought that happened?" Mar nodded, unable to speak. She swallowed a few times, then managed to force out, "We thought it was because you didn't actually exist in that reality."

"So why didn't you become a cat when you came here?" Kakashi asked, seeming to be thoroughly enjoying Mar's discomfort. "Because-" Words failed her. "Because you did exist here." Kakashi finished for her, expression becoming a bit more serious. "Momo is this reality's version of you, and when you got here you... replaced her." Mar felt her mind implode. Seriously, there was a small popping sound and Mar found herself unable to form a coherent thought. "So... What happened to the actual Momo?" Kakashi shrugged. "I have no idea, she might just be displaced until you leave again."

"But she might not be..." Well, Mar did have the feeling that she shouldn't leave the house. Her own fault for not listening.


	15. Focus, Woman!

It was a few days before Mar left the house again. Discovering that Momo was an actual person, and not the figment of two crazy people's imagination, was a bit much for her. Mar wasn't sure how she'd react the next time she saw Itami, but she knew it wouldn't be good. It'd most likely involve fleeing for her life. She'd gotten pretty decent at fleeing during her time at school, so she was confident in her ability to escape a silly civilian.

During her stint in the big house, not that the house was really all that big, Team Seven made it a point to stop by. Mar was told it was to keep her company, or something to that effect, but she knew they were checking up on her. Kakashi may have been the only one who really knew what had happened, but the others could tell something was off. Even Naruto could tell even if he had no clue what the problem could possibly be.

When Mar finally emerged, about a week after the fact, she noticed a distinct lack of ninja in the area around her house. They must have had another mission or Mar would have seen them hard at work in the clearing just past the trees. Sasuke had oh-so graciously invited the rest of his team to train in the compound so as to easily make sure Mar didn't have a nervous breakdown. Another nervous breakdown, at any rate.

Mar was going to make a point of reminding Sasuke to check out his underwear drawer for any missing items. Not that she thought Sakura would actually stoop to that level, but the look on Sasuke's face was sure to be priceless.

Stretching her arms over her head, Mar walking over to the bridge to wait for her friends. Yes, friends. Mar wasn't sure when it happened, but it became obvious to her when she started regularly meeting up with them after missions. There really wasn't any finer way to end a day than with a bowl or two of Ichiraku's ramen. That really wasn't just Naruto being an addict.

Upon reaching the bridge Mar discovered that it was most noticeably empty. No obnoxious blonde blob talking louder than necessary and being promptly put in his place by a rather shrill pink blob, all while an indifferent black blob stood off to the side. Mar really needed to look into getting glasses or contacts. Vague, colored shapes in the distance really doesn't do much for her.

Coming to a stop in the center of the bridge, which was still stubbornly empty, Mar stuck her hands on her hips and glanced around. Sasuke usually gave her a heads up when they were planning on meeting up somewhere other than the bridge. Either he was slacking, or the change had been very last minute.

A very Naruto shout was heard a few blocks away, the words impossible to make out, and Mar blinked slowly before shrugging and making her way over. "Naruto, why do you insis-" The sentence died before Mar managed to finish the thought. 'He's even more adorably psycho in person. What was I saying again?' Naruto was yelling something at her, making wild gestures with his arms. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Mar asked, shaking her head sharply. "I said not to get involved, Mar-chan!" Naruto practically shrieked, his voice cracking towards the end. It was a colossal effort not to snicker at the poor boy.

"Oh! Right, I was going to ask you if it was really necessary to be so loud all the time." Mar finally reached the group of Konoha ninja cowering behind Sasuke and Naruto. Pansies. Well, to be fair they were all, like, seven or something to that effect. "Do you seriously not see the hostile foreign ninja directly in front of your face?!" Naruto looked about ready to tear his hair out. "I see foreign ninja, but they don't look all that hostile to me." Mar sent a look over to the Sand ninja, who were torn between staying to watch Naruto's little episode and going about their business. "The freak in the makeup almost punched Konohamaru!"

"Who are you calling a freak, moron!" Kankuro decided to stick around long enough to defend himself. Mar ignored the outburst in favor of pinning Naruto with her best look. "You really can't comment on who may or may not be a freak, love. Plus, I can totally tell that he didn't actually do it." Mar's look darted to the boy using her meat shield. "Konohamaru looks pretty bruise free from where I'm standing." Naruto just stared at her for a moment, turned to exchange a look with Sakura who was looking a bit overwhelmed with the turn her day had taken. Sasuke cleared his throat, gaining Mar's attention. "You know something, right?" He asked lowly, using a small outburst from Naruto to mostly drown out the question.

"I know a lot of things Sasuke. It comes with being reasonably intelligent." Mar grinned at her ninja, sticking her hands in her pockets. "How are you so calm about this?!" Naruto, still looking bewildered, cried.

"Because I'd take hostile ninja over my own personal hell any day." Mar said flatly, all the humor leaving her face. "What hell?! You've been hanging around Sasuke's place like some kinda ghost for the last week!" Sakura bashed Naruto upside the head. The whole day may have been a bit much for her, but damn if Sakura didn't manage to knock some sense into him. "Because avoiding the issue is so much easier than dealing with it." Mar explained. "Or him, rather. Stupid psycho stalkers." Sasuke's eyes flicked to the left of her. The smirk he sent her way was more than enough warning for her to abruptly turn around and speed walk to the Sand ninja.

"There may or may not be a decently good looking civilian following me," she began, talking lowly to the siblings. "For the love of everything decent please stop him." Mar ended this plea with the widest, saddest puppy eyes she could muster. "Why would we get involved in your problems?" Oh, sweet Jesus Gaara was speaking. Focus, woman! "Because I'll love you forever if you do." Mar really needed to reprogram her standard responses to certain questions. Temari and Kankuro both raised an eyebrow at her remark, then turned to exchange a look between themselves.

"Mar! Stop offering the enemy undying love and devotion!" Mar blinked at Naruto, face blank. "Who said anything about devotion?" Mar blinked again. "And who's the enemy? Don't you have a treaty with Sand right now?" Before Naruto got the chance to respond Itami chose to latch himself onto Mar. Slinging an arm around her shoulders, Itami tried tugging her away but failed.

"If you don't want to lose that hand, I suggest you remove it." Hopefully the threat would work this time.


	16. Confrontation

Mar was sitting on her usual swing, staring blankly at the ground. The rest of that encounter had ended in a way she hadn't expected, and Mar wasn't sure how she should respond to it. It's not every day one of your first ninja crushes takes you up on your offer to love him forever. Mar was sure that the only reason Gaara had decided to step in was because all the commotion was ticking him off, but if she wanted to pretend otherwise then she damn well would. The look Itami had on his face when yet another ninja stepped in to block him was just the icing on Mar's bliss cake.

A shadow worked it's way over her, as Mar continued to stare at the ground, and was soon followed by someone clearing their throat. "Mar-chan?" Female voice, therefore it must be Sakura. "Yes?" Mar looked up at the other girl, smiling cheerfully, and blinked. The rest of the team was spread out behind her. "We were just wondering-"

"What the hell did you go and do that for?!" Naruto was too antsy to wait for Sakura to be diplomatic. This was why the boy had better pray that he had amazing advisors and diplomats when he became Hokage. "Okay, I needed saving and Sasuke really can't be the only one to step up. I'll develop a complex." Naruto blinked, confusion flowing over his face. "What the hell are you talking about?" Mar looked at him solemnly. "If Sasuke's the only one who saves me, then I might end up liking him. I'm not sure if that's something I could handle."

"I hate you." Sasuke muttered, glaring darkly at her. Mar winked at him before turning back to Naruto. "Besides, I am such a Gaara fangirl that I really couldn't help myself." Naruto's mouth fell open. He made various attempts to speak, all of which were unsuccessful, before giving up and just staring at her. "Since when are you a Gaara fangirl? I wasn't aware you'd seen him before." Sakura asked hesitantly. She had made a few previous attempts to talk about Mar's travels, but had stopped when Mar had finally snapped and walked out on her. Being the clever girl she is, Sakura had worked out that this was a sensitive subject for Mar and had dropped it.

"I've seen him a few times, but it was a good while ago." Mar said happily, waving a hand around lazily. "What makes him so great?" Sasuke asked shortly. If Mar didn't know any better, she'd say he was pouting. Mar paused and looked down at the ground with a pensive look on her face. "I'm not sure exactly what it is about him, but I do remember the exact moment I fell in love." Mar answered shortly, a goofy grin spreading across her face. Sakura nodded, she understood exactly what Mar was talking about. The boys exchanged bewildered glances, once again wondering if Mar was quite sane. Mar was quite sure she wasn't, considering exactly what that moment entailed.

"Sasuke isn't the only one who saves you!" Naruto finally said, giving Mar a reproachful look. "Kakashi laughs at my misfortune, Sakura is too timid around Sasuke to do anything, and you have difficulties reading situations. Yeah, Sasuke tends to be my savior." Mar was giving Naruto a flat look, daring him to say otherwise. He didn't disappoint. "We helped you out that first day he stalked you." Mar nodded slowly. "The day I was using you as a meat shield. It's hard not to accurately read that type of situation."

"I hate you." Naruto repeated Sasuke's earlier sentiment. Mar just shook her head at the two of them. Sakura looked like she was dying to ask a question, but wasn't sure if she dared. "You remember the moment you became Gaara's fangirl, right?" Mar turned to face Sakura, goofy grin taking it's place on her face once again. "Of course! What self-respecting fangirl doesn't know that?"

Mar paused a moment. On the one hand, it wasn't as though Gaara's jinchuriki status was top secret. On the other hand, Mar wasn't sure if she wanted to spread that around before the exams. There was no way in hell that Naruto would be able to keep that type of information quiet. He wouldn't even have to actively go around gossiping, Naruto would just have a loud reaction to the news that would be heard by everyone on the street behind them.

Mar was very sure that Sand would not appreciate their secret weapon's cover being blown before the invasion. Trying to think of a story that didn't give too much away, Mar looked up over Sasuke's shoulder. Her eyes lit up almost immediately as that annoying grin spread slowly across her face yet again. Bouncing up off the swing Mar made her way past Team Seven and came to a stop just before reaching the new arrivals. Sasuke and Naruto scowled at the three ninja, obviously not pleased with the interruption, but were ignored.

"Hi! Thanks for helping me out earlier!" Mar was vaguely aware of the dark auras hovering over her shoulder, but was ignoring it in favor of sitting firmly on cloud nine. "Were you telling the truth?" The sound of his voice was nearly enough to reduce Mar to so much goo. Should probably work on that if Mar was planning on spending any amount of time with him. Sakura noticed the glazed look in her eyes and pressed a fist into her mouth to stifle the giggles.

Realizing that she had been asked a question, Mar blinked a few times. "Oh, of course. I don't mention that unless I was planning on doing it anyway." Two pairs of hands firmly gripped each of her arms and proceeded to carry her away from the Sand ninja. Mar automatically attempted to squirm her way free, that irrational fear of being carried kicking in, only to find herself tucked under an arm. "Down. Down, down, down, downdowndown!" Mar's eyes narrowed dangerously, though whoever had the brilliant idea of lifting her couldn't see it, before she rammed her elbow into the stomach of her abductor.

Sasuke let out a whuff of air before dropping Mar, glaring evilly at her as she scrambled away from him. "Not cool, man." Sticking her tongue out at him, Mar turned her back on the lot of them and herded the Sand siblings away. "What the hell just happened?!" Mar heard Naruto cry behind her. Shaking her head, Mar continued on her way.


	17. Showdown Part One

It definitely felt surreal, Mar decided, to be pushing Kankuro and Temari down the street. Gaara was walking behind them, and Mar could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. It was the most amazing thing to happen since she got here.

"Where are we going?" Temari demanded. She was trying to force Mar into stopping by leaning backwards, but Mar had the leverage and poor Temari just found herself walking merrily along. "Away from them, somewhere I'm not likely to go so as to prevent being found." Mar replied happily, grinning like a loon.

"Why?" Kankuro seemed alarmed at the 'not being found' bit. "Because it would seem that my ninja don't appreciate me making awesome new ninja buddies, and I swear if Itami harasses me during Gaara time I will kill him." The fingers on Mar's right hand spasmed.

"Did you just say Gaara time?" Temari asked, voice sounding rather flat. Mar couldn't see her face, but she could just tell that it was looking rather disbelieving. "Of course I did. What would you call it?" Temari's shoulder twitched, but she refrained from answering. It was probably best, as Mar had an idea what the two older teens would be saying about alone time with Gaara.

"Itami is the one Gaara scared off for you isn't he?" Temari asked, still trying to halt the forward motion. "What's his problem?" The fingers on Mar's other hand twitched. "He's crazy. He also firmly believes that I'm someone other than myself, and I should be madly in love with him." Both hands twitched this time.

"But you're not." It was a statement, not a question. Mar took a quick peek over her shoulder to grin at Gaara. "Not in the slightest. So! To avoid horribly uncomfortable social awkwardness I am going somewhere I would never be caught dead." The Academy soon came into view.

"Really. This is the one place you'd never go." Kankuro sounded like he couldn't decide whether to be insulted that she'd rather die than learn to be a ninja, or amused. Mar stopped pushing the two of them and took a seat on the swing. "Well, maybe not to that extreme. But I can guarantee that no one will find us here. Unless it's Sasuke, because that guy has some sort of homing device for finding me." She glanced around quickly, as though expecting Sasuke to pop up at any moment.

"Now why are we here?" Kankuro demanded, also looking around the area. Ninja can be so twitchy. "Well, you I'm not so sure." Mar fidgeted on the swing, making it rock. Taking in a deep breath, Mar squared her shoulders and hopped off the swing. Mar could feel her spine stiffening in anticipation of one of the most embarrassing things she'd ever done. Coming to a stop in front of Gaara, Mar smiled her best smile and opened up her arms. "But Gaara was needed for a hug."

Gaara was looking perplexed. Not confused, because Gaara is too bad ass to look adorably confused. Even if he is. "A hug." It wasn't said as a question, but the question was implied. "Well, yeah. I did say I'd love you forever, and part of that is hugs." Mar bounced her still open arms to illustrate her point. Keeping a careful eye on him, just to be safe, Mar took a few careful steps forward and wrapped her arms around him. It didn't matter that he didn't respond, Mar could now check 'give Gaara a hug' off her bucket list. She even lived to tell the tale!

"What are you doing?" As if on cue, someone decides to ruin her fun. Refusing to release Gaara, Mar twisted her neck around to glare at the intruder. "Exactly what it looks like I'm doing. Problem?" Sasuke eyed the arms wrapped around the foreign ninja and raised an eyebrow. "It looks rather one-sided." Mar tightened her grip, just a bit not enough to alarm the dangerous boy she was currently showering with affection, and glared at Sasuke. "Don't matter, go away."

It was then that Mar noticed that she was taller than Gaara. Not by much, just a few inches really, but it counted. Though it was rather sad that a twelve or thirteen year old was nearly as tall as her. Maybe they were right when they called her a midget. Gaara was staring at Sasuke over her shoulder, and seemed to come to a decision. "It bothers you."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke was giving Gaara an intense look, as though daring him to say what he was implying. "It bothers you that she's... hugging... me." Gaara stumbled a bit over 'hugging' as though he wasn't accustomed to using it. Actually, he probably wasn't accustomed to using it. Mar rubbed her face into the crook of his neck. "It doesn't bother me." Sasuke denied, the fingers on his left hand twitching. "Then go away." Mar ordered, throwing a dirty look over her shoulder. Sasuke just gave her a look, as though the very suggestion was ludicrous. Mar didn't see it however, as she was busy snuggling with Gaara. It wasn't every day that you got to do the thing you've been dreaming about for years, that had always seemed impossible.

Gaara was still studying Sasuke, watching his hand clench into a fist before relaxing again, and decided that he was indeed bothered. Glancing down at the girl still firmly attached to him Gaara decided to see what Sasuke would do if the - hug - was no longer one-sided.

Temari noticed that he was lifting his arms first, and nudged Kankuro to make sure he was ready to run if necessary. In her experience, whenever the arms came up someone ended up as so much goo. When the raising arms failed to generate any sand, however, the two older teens watched in astonishment as they wrapped themselves around Mar. Mar was sure that she was going to explode with joy. Gaara was eying Sasuke over Mar's head.


	18. Showdown Part Two

Sasuke wasn't sure how he should react. It shouldn't bother him if Mar decided to go around hugging random boys. It hadn't bothered him when that Itami guy had tried being all touchy feel-y with Mar, since it had been obvious that she hadn't liked it at all. Mar had actually been so grateful with him for rescuing her that she'd completely forgotten that she didn't like him. Sasuke was sure the smile she'd given him was going to outshine the sun. This, though. This was different, since Mar had obviously initiated it. Then Gaara had reciprocated, and Sasuke had felt something in his chest clench.

He knew he wasn't jealous, the very idea was ridiculous. He'd only known the girl for a month or so, and she was definitely too old for him. Besides, Sasuke had more important things to worry about than girls right now.

"Get off her." But it would seem that his mouth wasn't listening to his head at the moment. Gaara's eyes gleamed, and Sasuke could just tell that he was being mocked. If it had been someone else acting like this Sasuke would have been mocking him. He couldn't see Mar's face, but if the girly squeal she'd uttered when she felt Gaara's arms on her back was any indication then she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Fangirl indeed.

After a few more moments of Mar overloading on Gaara love, she pulled back and gave Gaara the smile Sasuke remembered from his Itami rescue. Gaara's eyes widened a bit, resulting in a softer expression that gave an impression of surprise. The only reason he had decided to return the hug was to see what type of reaction he could get from that Sasuke kid. It was painfully obvious that he was attached to the weird girl who insisted on being his friend, and Gaara was intrigued as to why. After being exposed to Mar's exultant smile, Gaara was fairly sure he could see why Sasuke had become attached.

Mar, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to all the male posturing going on around her. She had just given Gaara some of the love she had promised him, and Mar was ecstatic. Not only did she not die, but Gaara had hugged her back! Unexpected and downright amazing! Eyes lit up with excitement, Mar quickly looked around and saw Temari and Kankuro frozen up over near the swing where she'd left them.

Blinking at the looks on their faces, Mar wandered over to them and waved a hand in each of their faces. "Are you okay?" Kankuro shifted his eyes from Gaara to Mar, still with the look of utter disbelief. "How are you still alive?" Confusion flitted across Mar's face for a moment before understanding dawned. "I'm just insanely lucky, sometimes." Temari shook her head sharply, trying to clear it. "That wasn't luck. No amount of luck could save you from Gaara if he decided to kill you."

"Good thing he didn't decide to kill me then, hm?" Mar smiled mischievously at the two ninja, hands clasped behind her back, before noticing the stare-off happening behind her. "What's their problem?" Temari glanced at the two boys, one of whom terrified her to no end, and shrugged. "Maybe they've decided to become epic rivals for your affections." Mar stared at the girl for a full minute before she started to giggle. Soon the giggles had intensified into laughter, and before long Mar was on the ground laughing too hard to stand. Sasuke and Gaara broke off their staring match long enough to look over at her, one concerned the other impassive, before turning back to each other.

"Seriously? That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Mar took several deep breaths before she'd calmed down enough to get back up off the ground. "Well, I'm sure I've kept you long enough." Mar smiled pleasantly at everyone, which just showed how great her mood was since Sasuke was included. "I'm sure you guys had something you needed to get done, right?" Temari nodded briskly, grabbing Kankuro and dragging him along behind her. Gaara continued to stare at Sasuke for another moment before breaking eye contact and following his sister away.

This left Mar with Sasuke, which she didn't really mind, and she hummed a bit before turning to leave herself. "You seem awfully cheerful." Sasuke said, sounding a bit bitter. Mar just hummed louder, grinning to herself as she left the play yard. Sasuke scowled as he followed her at a distance, watching to see where she'd go next, before seeing Mar turn into Ichiraku's. She must have had a meeting with Naruto. Waiting a moment to make sure she wasn't leaving anytime soon, Sasuke slouched a bit before leaving. All their missions were done for the day, he had no reason to hang around here.

Mar was sitting at the counter, swinging her feet back and forth as she waited for Naruto to show his face. It had been hard to leave Gaara, but she'd promised the blonde she would be here. Mar just couldn't bring herself to break a promise to Naruto, not even for Gaara. Soon enough Naruto's head came into view and the scowl on his face disappeared when he caught sight of her. "I didn't think..." Mar gasped theatrically. "You didn't just think I'd ditch you, did you?!" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks turning slightly pink. "Yeah, well, you looked busy." Mar nudged him as he sat next to her, "Never too busy for you, Naruto."

The rest of the day was spent at Ichiraku's, watching Naruto eat more than was healthy. Mar went to bed that night still wearing the grin she'd been sporting all day, and wondered how long the good times were going to last.


	19. Seriously!

A couple days later Team Seven was reporting for the Exam. So rather than seek them out, Mar spent the morning going around the village aimlessly. Itami appeared once, but Mar had seen him before she herself was spotted. Blending into the crowd she made her escape and continued on her way. Every few hours Itami would reappear, Mar would slip into the nearest shop, and the cycle would continue. Later in the afternoon, after a particularly close call, Mar had had enough.

Turning sharply down an alley she had discovered earlier in the week, Mar plotted a course as out of the way as she could manage. "M-ar!" Itami stumbled over her name a bit, clearly having started to call her Momo before catching himself. Mar booked it, taking off down the street in a mad rush for freedom. No longer paying attention to where she was going, Mar raced down street after street glancing behind her occasionally to see if Itami was still behind her.

It was during another backward glance that Mar slammed into a body. Hitting the ground Mar twisted around to make sure Itami wasn't gaining on her, then looked up to see what she'd hit. Dozu was glaring back down at her, his single eye coldly regarding the idiot who'd so carelessly bounced off of him. Mar was betting that he hadn't even rocked from the impact. "Well, well, look who it is." Mar turned enough to see Anko standing behind Naruto. "What's the rush?"

"Didn't you ask me that last time?" Mar questioned, pulling herself back to her feet. "I believe so. Is it still the same answer?" Anko turned away from her victim and soon stood in front of Mar. "Nope. Stalker issues this time."

"He was harassing you again?" Naruto groaned, slapping a hand to his face. "When does he stop? Anyway, I should be moving on before he catches up. Good luck not dying."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence!" Naruto shouted after her as she ran. Mar left the creepy as hell forest behind her and soon found herself in the center of the village. A last minute decision turned her feet in the direction of the Hokage Monument. Fear of heights be damned, this was more important.

Mar walked over to the edge, carefully sitting down, and dangled her feet over the edge. Gazing over the village Mar had to stifle a sigh. Even if she wasn't in any rush to get home, Mar was hoping that she wouldn't have to wait until Shippuden started. Granted, the only way she'd manage to get all the Sharingan brats together in one place was after the time skip. Probably would have to tag along on a mission, too.

Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

A noise behind her caused Mar to nearly jump over the edge. Catching herself before she plummeted to her death, because that would just be sad, Mar saw a girl standing behind her looking rather uncertain. "I- I don't suppose you remember me, do you?" She asked timidly, one hand going up to rub the opposite arm nervously. Mar studied her a moment, taking in the deep indigo hair and silver eyes. "Not in the slightest. You aren't about to declare us eternal rivals, are you?"

The other girl's eyes widened a bit before she shook her head rapidly. "Of course not! I guess Megami found you already, huh?" Mar shrugged, pinning her with a sudden sharp look. "You aren't going to suggest we were in some type of illicit lesbian love affair, are you?" The blush that engulfed the other's face was very vibrant. "W-What?"

"Everyone either seems to hate me or love me, so it was a fair guess. Who are you then?" Mar went back to studying the village, mapping out various Itami escape routes while waiting for her guest to compose herself. "I'm Nanako, your best friend. Or, I was your best friend..." Mar chanced a glance behind herself and saw Nanako's eyes lower dejectedly. "I'm sorry I don't remember you, but I'm not Momo. I'm Mar."

Nanako joined Mar on the edge, swinging her feet over the side, and sighed. "I know. You act completely different, you even talk differently." Another sigh, this one a bit deeper. "I was just hoping Megami was lying about the whole thing. Momo was my only friend, y'know?" Mar turned to stare at her, stunned that Nanako didn't have more friends. It wasn't like she was ugly, or had an obnoxious personality. Nanako was actually the sanest person Mar had met to date, civilian or ninja, and the thought that there were people who didn't like her was... unbelievable.

"Why's that? If you don't mind me asking." Nanako giggled, shaking her head. "I was the top of our class in the Academy. The other girls were all more than happy to be in my circle until the class heartthrob decided to acknowledge me." Mar saw Nanako roll her eyes before shaking her head. "I have no idea what those hussies were thinking. He wasn't even that cute." Mar felt her lip twitch. This girl was by far the most interesting person she'd met here.

"That is by far the worst excuse for ending a friendship I have ever heard." Mar announced. Sure, Sakura and Ino had done the same, but they still spoke. Insults, sure, but a conversation is a conversation. This was just a wide scale abandonment. "Are you a ninja, then?" Mar asked brightly, tossing a rock over the side. "No, my team didn't make it past the final exam either." Nanako admitted sheepishly. "I couldn't stand my teammates, and it went downhill from there."

"Understandable. So you met Momo at the Academy, huh?" Mar tossed another rock over the side. "Not really. I knew who she was, of course, but our circles didn't cross paths." Nanako threw a rock after Mar's. Closing her eyes, Nanako sighed before turning to look at Mar. "After I was ditched by the ditzes, Momo went out of her way to stick up for me." She smiled wryly. "I'm not... really all that great with confrontations. Another reason our team didn't pass."

"So Momo watched out for you. That's pretty cool of her. I guess that means she wasn't 'in love' with this heartthrob guy?" Nanako snickered a bit, holding a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. "Momo hated the ground he walked on. It was an irrational type of loathing." Mar blinked. Well, that was interesting. Mar was under the impression that Momo was this saintly person who was above such petty things as hate.

That was the way Itami saw her, anyway.

"I'm not sure I want to meet the guy my doppelgänger hated." Nanako's snickered turned to full blown laughter. "You already have!" Mar's eyebrows shot upwards before furrowing in intense thought. Who had she met besides the ninja? "No..." Nanako was now laughing so hard she fell backwards onto the ground, legs waving in the air. "Not him. Dear god!" Mar let her face fall into her hands. "Wait! You said he was into you!"

Nanako rolled over onto her stomach, wiping tears off her face as she looked up at Mar. "After Momo found out exactly what had happened she freaked out on him. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen! By the time she'd calmed down Itami had two black eyes and a broken nose." Nanako paused to finish calming herself down. "I swear the only reason he didn't crack a rib was sheer stubbornness." Mar groaned. Jus her luck that Momo's boyfriend was a wash out ninja as well. No wonder he always managed to find her.

"So Momo kicked his ass, and he decided to fall in love with her. How cliched could you get?" Nanako just laughed at her pain.

A/N- I just realized that I've been slacking in the thanking you all department. I just want y'all to know that I do appreciate all the favorites, follows and reviews! It makes my day.


	20. Forest End

The next week was spent with Nanako, since the ninja were still occupied with their not dying. Mar would be very upset with them if they failed the one objective she gave them. Nanako was the best person to keep her occupied, because she was chock full of stories about what her and Momo were always getting up to. Though none of the other misadventures were as epic as the Itami beat down. Whenever Nanako was unavailable to hang out, Mar would wander around the village aimlessly while avoiding Itami. It was at the very end of her ninja free mini-vacation that Megami reappeared.

"I thought you said I could have him!" Mar was heading over to the evil forest of doom to wait for her friends -ahem Gaara ahem- and looked up when she heard the loud girly screech. "Who are you again?" Mar stared at the fuming girl, trying to place where she'd seen her before. "Are you kidding me?!" Megami shrieked loud enough to wake the dead, stamping a foot for good measure. Mar blinked slowly, finally placing the face. "Oh! Hi." Turning back to the ground, Mar continued walking.

"Where do you think you're going?" Megami was following her, trying to pull her to a stop. Mar was stronger than she looked, however, and kept moving forward. "I have a date." She replied cheerfully. Well, she did sort of have a date. They were expecting her to meet them at the gate. "You said you gave up on him!" Megami was livid, Mar noticed, to the point where her face was turning bright red. "Not with him! I'd rather die." Mar made a disgusted face, picking up the pace as if to lose Megami.

She should know by now that it never works with these people.

The gate came into view, thank god, and before Megami could respond Mar had located Gaara and promptly attached herself to him. "Make the annoying fangirl go away." Mar groaned, burying her face in Gaara's neck. Megami paused at the sight of her rival hanging off of the strange redhead. "If you really aren't interested in Itami anymore, why won't he pay attention to me?!" She demanded, getting over the shock. "Because he's an idiot who doesn't know when to quit." Mar snapped. "Now go whine to him about his lack of attention." Megami huffed before storming away. Let's see if Itami continued to chase Momo after she told him about this new guy.

The moment Megami was out of view Mar released Gaara with a sigh. "Finally. Annoying brats, the lot of 'em." Naruto pounced on her, seemingly from no where, and squeezed the living day lights out of her in one giant hug. "About time you showed up! You should have seen me, I kicked ass!" Shikamaru snorted as he walked past, obviously not agreeing with Naruto's definition of 'kicking ass'. "I'm sure you did, Naruto. Where are the others?" Naruto laid off the monster hug long enough to peer around. "Sakura was just behind me! I don't know where Sasuke got off to, he just walked away after the matches were over."

"You mean he was taken to the hospital." Mar corrected absently, helping Naruto look for Sakura. She'd probably run off to check on Sasuke. "Why would Sasuke be in the hospital?" Naruto asked curiously, giving Mar a strange look. "Because that's where Kakashi took him after his match." Mar explained, finally spotted the head of pink hair. "There's Sakura!"

"But Kakashi didn't take Sasuke anywhere!" Naruto insisted. "And if he did, how would you even know?! You weren't there!" Mar stopped her frantic waving, staring at Naruto as though he were some previously undiscovered species. "There you are Naruto! You left me behind! Oh, hi Mar." Sakura had caught up with her errant teammate and was looking between the two curiously. "What's up, guys?" Mar turned to the other girl so fast Sakura nearly got whiplash by association. "You can settle this! Where did Sasuke go at the end of his match?"

Sakura blinked slowly, confused as to how Sasuke's whereabouts became such a big issue. "He went back up into the viewing area with us." Mar stared at her as though she were insane. Sakura fidgeted under the look she was receiving. "Kakashi didn't cart him off for some kinda treatment?" Mar was confused. One minute she'd expecting to be hauled to the hospital to visit an already escaped Sasuke, and here she is being told that Sasuke had never gone to the hospital in the first place.

Oh, did he have some explaining to do when she got her hands on him.

"Any idea where he disappeared off to, then?" Sakura shook her head mutely, eyes still wide. "You did tell him you were meeting us here, right? I thought you had, so I didn't bother."

Mar hadn't, as a matter of fact. It had been assumed that Sasuke would be out of commission when she came to meet the others, so why would she waste her time? "I'll find him eventually. Ramen to celebrate your accomplishments?" Mar suggested, hooking an arm through each of theirs. Naruto pumped a fist in the air as Mar led them away. Gaara watched them walk away before turning to his siblings and leading the way to their hotel. Mar had given him another hug as she had said she would. It was Sasuke's fault that she'd been too distracted to stay.


	21. Sound Encounter

Sasuke had been abducted by Kakashi immediately after they had been dismissed. Having seen what Gaara was capable of, he hadn't minded the one-on-one training session. Mar had been right, it seems, and the more he had used his Sharingan the more he could recall of those memories that had confused him back when he'd first met her. The flashes had lengthened into short scenes, and Sasuke had come to realize that things were off.

According to one scene, the Exams had already happened. He could clearly remember the end, where all hell had broken loose, and the sight of who he assumed was Gaara. The giant sand creature threw him off a bit, as well as the giant fox, but Sasuke had come to just assume that if he couldn't make sense of it he just didn't have all the pieces.

When they had been in the forest, Sasuke had constantly been feeling that strong sense of déjà vu. He had just brushed it off, how could he have been here before? Then the whirlwind had come, and Team Seven had been scattered. Sasuke remembered the fear, terror really, along with another flash of what had happened before.

Like hell if he was going to experience that again.

A seething resentment he hadn't realized existed pushed whatever fear remained aside, and Sasuke found himself glaring at the figure that appeared. Sharingan whirling, Sasuke had grabbed a petrified Sakura and leapt away. Following the giant skid mark indicating Naruto's passing, Sasuke had encountered a giant snake slowly slithering away. The snake had seen them, gathering itself to strike, but before it had the chance it had exploded in a Naruto rain of clones and hunks of flesh.

Evasion was one of Naruto's specialties, and after Sasuke had explained the situation to him (as best he understood it himself) Naruto had led the three of them off while sending groups of clones in various other directions.

When they had been sure that they hadn't been followed, Sasuke and Naruto had set various traps for the other teams. Sasuke has to admit that Naruto had some very interesting ideas in regards to traps. Multiple traps had been sprung, and in a moment of spite Sasuke had taken all the scrolls with them to the tower. The less teams who made it through the better for him.

Without another incident, Team Seven had passed the second part of the Exam. Iruka had been so proud.

Mar was staring at Naruto as he told the epic tale of what had transpired in the forest. It was unbelievable, yet must have happened if Sakura was nodding along as he went. Sasuke had known! Not just suspected, or felt slightly uneasy, he had known what was going to happen. And he had prevented it, even going so far as to rely on Naruto's skills to do so. Mar wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Then we set up a bunch of really nasty traps, and snagged a bunch of the other teams' scrolls!" Naruto finished. "We booked it to the tower after that, and summoned Iruka-sensei with the scrolls." Naruto stuffed another oversized mouthful of noodles into his face.

"We even made it there before the deadline." Sakura continued, poking her noodles with the chopsticks. "We had to wait for the deadline, so we hung around in the arena until everyone who made it in time was gathered together." Sakura gave Mar a wry smile, eyes shining with mischief. "Gaara was the first one there, apparently, and Hinata's team was immediately after them." Mar grinned widely at the mention of Gaara's name. The Sasuke situation had gotten her so worked up she hadn't managed to spend as much time with him as originally planned.

This would have to be rectified immediately.

Mar finished her meal, leaving the money on the counter, and jumped off of the stool. "I'm going to go find the object of my affection. I'll see you all later! Good luck training." Sakura and Naruto waved good-bye, and Mar was off. Racing through the streets, Mar expertly dodged the pedestrians.

Weaving through the crowds at the market, Mar soon found herself in the section of town usually reserved for foreign dignitaries. This was where the village had placed the Genin from the other villages, so Mar was confident that she could locate Gaara if she wandered around long enough.

Breezing through the streets in a rather relaxed manner was a pleasant change from her usual covert-mission style of skulking around. Mar was sure that the ANBU probably thought she was up to no good, with the way she had to creep around corners. Itami was ruining what should have been an amazing experience.

Rounding another corner, Mar found herself being brought to a halt. Now we know that Mar is tougher than she looks, so anything that can effectively bring her to a stop was a force not to be messed with.

Looking up, Mar saw the Sound ninja staring her down. "Well, well, look at what we have here." Zaku said, a very unpleasant look appearing on his face. "It's that chick who ran into you before the second Exam, Dosu." Mar glanced between the three of them, uneasy with the situation she seemed to have gotten herself into. "So it is. What brings you here, little girl?"

Little girl? Really? Mar huffed in irritation, before backing up a step. "I'm looking for an infatuation of mine." Mar said evenly, trying to shake Zaku's hand off her arm. Wait, why wasn't Zaku in the hospital with mangled arms? Dammit, Sasuke, what did you do?

"An infatuation?" Dosu asked flatly, his eye showing a similar sentiment. Mar nodded, still staring at Zaku, before shaking her arm half-heartedly. "Indeed, now if you'll excuse me..."

"I don't think we will." Zaku said cheerfully. Mar had this overwhelming desire to smack herself upside the head. How could she forget that the Sound ninja would be over here as well? Idiot! "I'm missing out on cuddle time though!" Mar whined, pulling herself out of Zaku's grip. Maybe he had gone to the hospital previously...

"Aren't you a Konoha citizen? Why are you fraternizing with the foreign ninja?" Kin was eying the strange girl suspiciously. "As a matter of fact, I am not a Konoha citizen. I was abducted by ninja." Hey, she was. On the way back from Wave, Team Seven hadn't given her much of a choice in the matter.

"You seem to be enjoying quite a bit of freedom for a prisoner." Dosu said dryly, pointing out the lack of armed guards. "I said 'abducted' not 'taken prisoner'." Mar responded, backing away slowly. For every step she took, the group in front of her took one as well.

"Then you're a hostage, then?" Dosu was looking as equally unimpressed with that explanation. "No." Mar replied shortly. She paused, unsure of what her status was actually categorized as. "I'm not entirely sure why they felt the need to drag me along with them." Mar gave them all a pointed look, "Not that it's actually any of your business, but I decided it didn't hurt to share public knowledge." Make it seem as unimportant as possible, so as to dissuade undue interest. Not that it's actually top secret, but it's not exactly that public either.

"Mar?" The voice of an angel came to her rescue. Temari was walking down the street, carrying a bag of what could only be described as groceries. Mar felt the need to cackle at the thought of a host village actually being so cheap as to require its guests to buy their own food. "Temari! I was just looking for you guys, before I found myself waylaid." Taking the distraction Temari had so unwittingly provided, Mar ducked around the two boys in front of her and raced over to her savior. Thank god for small miracles.


	22. Bakery Story

"Have I mentioned that you're awesome lately?" Mar said breathlessly, keeping pace with Temari. "No, you haven't." Temari answered, giving Mar a suspicious look. When they had returned to their room, Temari and Kankuro had reached the conclusion that Mar was up to something. Granted, no one outside of Sand actually knew that Gaara was an imbalanced jinchuriki. You'd think that the vibe he tended to give off would have warned Mar, wouldn't you? "Well, let me rectify that. Thanks for saving me."

Mar was truly thankful that someone she knew had happened by at that moment. As she had sprinted away, Mar had looked back and seen that she had been backing herself into a corner. Not one of her smartest moments. Mar shuddered at the thought of what might have happened, frowning at the injustice of it all. It wasn't as though she had signed up for possible death or disfigurement.

"What were you doing there, anyway?" Temari asked, startling Mar out of her thoughts. "Oh! I was looking for Gaara, since I hadn't had a chance to hang around with him as long as originally intended." Mar became quiet, looking at the ground thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I'm still up to it, though. Completely forgot that those guys would be here, too." Temari nodded, understanding the impulse to avoid certain bodily harm. Mar grinned up at her suddenly, eyes glinting mischievously. "Would you tell him that I'm sorry, but I'll see him some other time?"

"I guess I can." Temari said warily, not sure if she wanted to chance talking to her youngest brother. Some days were worse than others, and Temari was sure that tonight was a full moon. It was better to avoid Gaara during full moons. "Awesome! You rock." With that Mar took off in the direction of the Hokage Monument, hoping that Nanako would be around. All the ninja were getting prepared for the grand finale in a month, and Mar found herself alone.

Reaching the top of the mountain, panting like a dog since she'd decided to sprint the entire way, Mar threw herself onto the ground. "What's wrong with you?" The familiar voice caused Mar's head to snap up off the ground. "Where have you been?" She demanded, glaring up at him. Sasuke blinked slowly before an eyebrow rose up. "I wasn't aware that you were my keeper." Mar snorted, expression evening out. "Well, now you know. Weren't you Kakashi-napped?"

"Kakashi-napped?" Sasuke asked flatly, expression matching his tone. "Yeah. I've decided to call it that whenever Kakashi takes someone away for an extended period of time." The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched. "That so?" Mar nodded from her position on the ground. "You still haven't answered my first question." Sasuke continued. "What question would that be?"

"What's wrong with you?" Mar grinned slyly up at him. "Too many things to count, love." Shaking his head, Sasuke lowered himself down beside her. "I was taken aside by Kakashi. He wanted to train me for speed so I could use his technique, but it would seem that I've already mastered it." He smirked, obviously highly amused by it. "The more I use my Sharingan, the more I remember."

Mar had adjusted herself so she was lying spread-eagled staring up at the sky. Rotating her head enough to see Sasuke's face she asked, "Is that why I didn't have to visit you in the hospital?" Sasuke nodded, arms resting on his knees. Mar nearly snorted again when she saw the pose. It was the way he'd been sitting when the Team was first introducing themselves. "I'm still curious as to where you come in." Sasuke was staring at her, not even blinking, which was enough to make her squirm.

"I'd rather not tell you. You'll figure it out soon enough." Mar rolled away from him, pushing herself to her feet. "Accompany me home? I'm not in the mood to be waylaid." Sasuke got up as well, and they both made their way back. It had been the craziest day of her life. Minus the shower incident.

Sitting at home later that evening, Mar was going through the place and tidying up. When she had finished and collapsed in one of the armchairs, Mar looked around and decided that maybe she wasn't quite ready to call it a day. Going out was a no, Mar wasn't in the mood to run into anyone irritating, so she decided that baking sounded like a plan.

Grabbing a mixing bowl out of a cabinet Mar gathered up the flour, eggs, sugar and other baking ingredients in preparation for her baking spree. Soon she had a good chocolate cake batter going, and Mar greased a cake pan before pouring in the batter and putting it in the oven.

Before long Mar had two cakes done, two batches of cookies in the oven (one chocolate chip and one oatmeal raisin), and two lumps of bread dough rising in preparation for tomorrow. The cakes were cooling before being frosted. The house smelled amazing, and Mar was debating on whether she wanted to lick the bowl before washing it. Her inner five year old won out, and Mar stuck her face into the bowl.

"What... are you doing?" Mar peeked an eye around the edge of the bowl to see who had invaded her sanctum. Anko was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Mar lick the mixing bowl clean with a blank expression. Holding up a finger, Mar finished what she was doing before putting the bowl in the sink and wiping her face. "I decided that sugar was a necessary part of my day. What brings you here?"

Anko stepped farther into the room, eyes roaming around. "I smelled something amazing and followed it here." Mar preened a bit, proud that her baking could draw in the masses, and smiled at Anko. "The cakes should be cool enough to frost, want the first piece when I'm done?" So the remainder of Mar's day was spent eating cake with Anko. A lot of cake, more than recommended most assuredly. Mar regretted her life choices when she went to bed that night. Stupid sugar induced insomnia.

A/N- Yes, yes. Mar is a Gaara fangirl, and is proud of it, but she isn't the extreme fangirl. The occasional internal squeal should be expected, and the occasional slip of the tongue as well. Nothing extreme, as stated, don't worry. Oh, and while I would love to make longer chapters, I'm afraid that I'm not good at it. Novellas seem to be my thing.


	23. Ride 'Em Cowboy

Monotony, that was the word of the month. With all the ninja occupied with the grand finale, Mar found herself on her own more and more. Nanako was awesome, and often found time to kill with Mar, but she was mostly helping out her parents at their restaurant. Mar forgot that silly civilians had silly civilian jobs. It was at the end of the month that something vaguely interesting happened. Mar was walking around the outer parameter of the village when the ground shook violently.

Looking up, Mar couldn't help but notice the giant-ass toad hopping around erratically in the distance. She couldn't see Naruto, due to the distance, but she knew he was there. Mar looked around the area and spotted a large boulder which she promptly sat on. Wishing she had thought to bring popcorn, Mar sat back and relaxed while she watched her buddy ride a toad cowboy-style.

Two hours in, Mar discovered that it wasn't nearly as entertaining as she thought it would be. Hopping down off of the boulder, Mar sighed as she wandered back into the village. Weaving through the midday traffic, Mar encountered Nanako. "Hey! Please tell me you're doing something interesting." Nanako laughed at Mar's rather pathetic expression before grabbing her arm and pulling her along. "I'm not, sorry. It's almost time for me to start my shift at the restaurant." Mar's shoulders sagged as she went along, nearly tripping for the effort. Nanako moved fast when she needed to.

"Darn. I've been going mad on my own. It's horrible." It was almost to the point where she was hoping Itami would appear, if only for something to do. "Oh, right. All those ninja you've adopted are busy lately, huh?" Nanako tried to stifle the snickers that Mar's expression induced. "I haven't even been threatened lately! Do you know how unheard-of that is?!" Nanako tossed Mar through the front door, yanking back on her collar when she stumbled, before patting her on the back. "There, there. I'm sure Itami will be back to stalk you soon."

"Blasphemy! Sacrilege! Don't even joke like that, Nana-chan!" Itami's family's business had required him to travel to the next town for the last few weeks. Unfortunately, he was scheduled to come back in the next few days. Mar had been debating with herself whether she should build a secret base and just lay low there. Maybe even write out a sign in crayon that says 'No Stalkers Allowed'. "I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Nanako wiped the tears out of her eyes and rushed into the back room. Mar slid into her usual spot, glancing around the room as she did so.

Nanako's parent's place had an abundance of regular customers, all of which seemed to be in attendance today. A few of the men sitting closest to Mar nodded at her, recognizing her from earlier in the week. She waved back, smiling slightly, before catching movement to her left. Someone had slid into the seat beside her, and when she turned to look Mar was greeted by the sight of an eye smile. "And I thought you were done following me around. Shouldn't you be torturing Sasuke right about now?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head before shrugging and picking up Mar's discarded menu. "I was, but somehow he already knew what I was going to have him working on... so..." Kakashi scanned the menu quickly. "What's good here?"

"Everything." Mar said immediately. There were a few sounds of agreement from the group that had acknowledged Mar earlier. "And I'm not just saying that because Nanako's family owns it." Mar had a very vocal inner fat kid, so she always made it a point to try one of everything. 'Course she had to get over her fear of foreign cuisine first. "So I'll be safe with the lunch special?" Kakashi asked placing the folded menu back onto the table. "Of course. I don't mess around with food."

Nanako reappeared just in time to catch the end of that conversation, pen poised over a pad of paper. "So would you each like the special?" Mar paused just long enough to decide that yes, she was hungry. "If you don't mind. I can't say no to food." There were actually quite a few instances of Mar wishing she were dead after eating too much. Kakashi told Nanako that he would like one as well, and she vanished back into the kitchen to give her father the order.

"So, Sasuke ruined your torture session, and you decided to harass me?" Mar sat back in her chair. Kakashi smiled at her, leaning back as well. "Actually, I was planning on asking you whether you had seen Sasuke. I seem to have misplaced him." Mar raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise crossing her face. "How the hell do you misplace someone?"

"I left him tied up at the top of the cliff, and when I returned he was gone." Mar shook her head, not interested in asking why, not in the slightest. "No, he hasn't shown up." Kakashi nodded, spinning the salt shaker on the table. "I noticed. So I decided to enjoy your company first before hunting the ungrateful brat down." Mar watched the salt spin, waiting for the contents to spill out onto the table. When the shaker made ten full rotations and still didn't explode all over the place, Mar made a disbelieving face.

"How are you doing that?" If she had tried something like that, salt would have ended up everywhere. Kakashi smirked at the look on her face, giving the shaker another spin before letting it come to a stop. "Ninja." He said, as though that one word explained everything. Mar rolled her eyes as her plate was placed before her. "Here you two go!" Nanako announced cheerfully, bouncing off to the next table.

"She's certainly happy." Kakashi observed. Mar nodded, carefully aligning the chopsticks in her hand. She'd never managed to learn how to use them correctly, and Nanako had only been so successful in instructing her. "I think she uses me to lure in new customers." Mar noted Kakashi's expression and grinned. "Well, with all the ninja I hang around and the people who seem to follow me there's been quite the increase in business." Kakashi waited until Mar had looked back to her plate before starting (and finishing) his own meal. "Not a bad business tactic." He said once finished. Mar nodded, mouth full of food. Nanako was flitting between all the tables much like a hummingbird on speed.

"As nice as this was, I suppose I should be off. Student to round up, after all." Mar waved him off, smiling up at him. Once the seat previously occupied by Kakashi was vacant again, Nanako slipped into it. "Okay, so, before I have to get back to work." She looked around quickly, making sure the coast was clear. "Who was that?" Mar nearly choked in a stray noodle. "What? Kakashi? He's the jonin in charge of my ninja." Nanako wasn't fazed by Mar's wording, having grown used to it long ago. "And?" Nanako pressed. Mar frowned, placing her chopsticks down. "And nothing, meddler."

Since Mar insisted on not having a love life Nanako had been trying to play matchmaker. Every three days or so, Nanako had brought another friend to the restaurant to introduce to Mar. It's been nothing but a disaster. Hilarious, but a disaster all the same. "I wouldn't need to meddle if you bothered to do it yourself." Nanako retorted, giving Mar a stern look. "Not interested." Mar brushed off Nanako's concern, finishing her meal and heading home. She'd give it a couple more days before stalking Naruto at the hospital.

A/N- I am not dead, though I did just come close. It's almost like these people have never driven in snow before. Amateurs.


	24. Foiled!

A hospital can go two ways. It can try too hard to appear as something other than what it is, or it can not give a damn and just feel like a hospital. Mar was pleasantly surprised to see that this hospital had managed the impossible. After asking the nice lady at the desk where his room was (and reassuring her that she did have the right name) Mar started wandering the halls in search of Naruto.

After several false starts, and one dead end, Mar found Naruto standing outside of a room. Shikamaru was standing on the other side of him, and both boys were glaring at something inside. Or rather, Naruto was glaring and Shikamaru was looking a bit put out. You could tell he didn't want to deal with whatever was going on.

"Yo!" Mar waved as she came up behind them, peering over Naruto's shoulder. "Not now, Mar! This is dangerous!" Naruto practically hissed, trying to shove her away. "Oh, is that so? Sounds much more interesting than the rest of my month has been." Ducking under his arm, Mar got a good look into the room. "Hey, it's Gaara! Hello, Gaara!" Naruto released a very girly shriek as he attempted to pull out his hair.

"Not now, Mar! Can't you see we're in the middle of something?!" Mar could hear Shikamaru muttering something behind her, but it wasn't nearly as interesting as the outraged noises Naruto was making as she avoided his arm. "Why are you having an epic stand off with Gaara anyway?" Mar said after several minutes of avoiding Naruto. "He tried to kill Bushy Brows!"

"Who what now?" Mar asked innocently. Naruto had to stop assuming that she knew everyone he did. Not that she didn't, but that was beside the point. "The guy in the bed!" Mar shook her head, awed that the eyebrows were even bushier in person. "And I take it that's a bad thing?" The look of horror on Naruto's face was priceless.

"Ha, whu, how could you ask that?!" His voice was just getting higher and higher. Mar wondered if she could get his voice stuck that way. "Well, seeing as how you're ninja, it didn't really seem too far-fetched to me." Mar shrugged philosophically, inching further into the room. "Hi, Gaara, haven't seen you in forever!"

"She knows him?" Mar heard Shikamaru ask Naruto. "Oh, yeah. Long story." Mar had inched far enough into the room to try a run for it. Naruto tried to grab for her, missed epically, and started cursing at her for being stupid. The irony was not lost on her. "Get back here!" Ignoring the peanut gallery, Mar grinned up at her favorite ninja ever and slowly (very, very slowly) wrapped her arms around his middle.

One quick squeeze later and Mar had been yanked back, a hand holding onto her collar to prevent escape. "Are you crazy?!" Naruto looked like a bruised apple. Face so red it was bordering on purple. Shikamaru had a suspicious hand print on his face, as though from a facepalm. "It's debatable, now can I go back to my Gaara?" Gaara was looking between the three of them, idly wondering if perhaps Mar was crazy. It would explain the lack of healthy fear for someone who could kill her without so much as blinking.

"Do you have a death wish?" Everything stopped as heads turned to stare at Gaara, who had just spoken for the first time since Mar had appeared. "What?" Mar asked in return. "It would explain why you insist on hanging around." Gaara was staring at her, which made it difficult not to fidget. "Me and death reached an understanding a long time ago." Mar said vaguely. "It's not on my 'to-do' list, but it doesn't faze me."

"I give up." Naruto groaned, burying his face in his hands. "It's okay, little buddy." Mar soothed, patting him on the back. "Before he has a nervous breakdown," gestures to Naruto. "I think I'd better be off." Mar waved as she walked away, quickly locating the exit and getting lost in the crowd.

Tomorrow and these stupid Exams would be over. Dammit! This was the last time Mar was going to see Gaara before the invasion! Mar changed course and started for Naruto's apartment. Eating all his instant ramen seemed like perfectly good revenge for interrupting Gaara time.


	25. Invasion!

The doors weren't open yet. Mar had gotten up early to ensure she didn't pull a Naruto, and the flipping doors weren't even open yet. Groaning in exasperation, Mar bashed her back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. Ignoring common sense, which was insisting that she was suicidal, Mar closed her eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

A hand violently shaking her snapped her awake. The fact that her head was hitting the wall as she was being shaken helped. "Wha?" Pink hair was practically bristling in outrage. "Are you asking to be abducted?!" Sakura yelled, bopping Mar on the head for good measure. Mar rubbed her aching skull, hissing under her breath, before glaring up at Sakura with a single eye. "No, but if it means getting away from your oh-so-considerate wake up calls I might reconsider." Sakura hissed, she was so angry.

Before any more violence could mar this beautiful morning a hand appeared and tapped Sakura on the shoulder. "Were you going to introduce us?" Ino asked, wearing an impish smile. Sakura pulled a one-eighty, anger forgotten as she spun around to introduce her two friends to each other. "Of course I was! I just got a little... distracted. Ino this is Mar. Mar, Ino." Ino stuck a hand out and when Mar grabbed it Ino pulled her up.

"A pleasure, I'm sure." Mar said, tugging her clothing straight. "So I take it the doors are open now?" Sakura gestured to the open door directly to Mar's left. Mar stuffed her hands in her pockets as she strolled into the building. Quickly leaving Sakura and Ino in her dust, Mar made her way down to the front. 'Must have front row seat for the awesomeness!' A flash of gale force winds ripping up the arena entered her mind. 'Well, maybe third row. Or fourth. Maybe even fifth.'

She had finally found the perfect spot, with virtually no blind spots, when she was rejoined by the other girls. "Finally found you!" Sakura gasped, collapsing into the seat next to Mar. "You make it sound like I was M.I.A for weeks or something. Were you running?"

Ino rolled her eyes from Sakura's other side. "She thought you ran away or something. People thought you were a missing toddler." Mar could just picture a lost child announcement coming over the P.A system. "I don't understand the mass hysteria whenever I try to venture forth on my own." Ino raised an eyebrow. "When was there mass hysteria?"

"I left the village for a day, just looking around, and when I got back I got jumped by four very irate ninja."

"We thought you got kidnapped! You didn't even leave a note!" Sakura defended herself, face turning crimson. Mar laughed as Sakura's face began to clash with her hair. "Who would kidnap me? Really." Sakura just grumbled in her chair, watching the arena. "Look, there's Sasuke-kun!" Mar nearly fell out of her seat. "He's on time?!"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Ino asked, staring as Mar pulled herself back into the seat. "He was supposed to be training with Kakashi! Kakashi is never on time!" Mar seriously thought she was going to start hyperventilating. It was one of the fandom signs of the apocalypse. Burning rocks were going to start falling from the sky at any moment. "I don't see Kakashi..." Sakura said slowly, eyes darting around the arena.

"We're saved!" Several eyes all turned to her, some clearly wondering if she was sane. "Did I say that out loud?" Mar felt her face get hot, and just knew she'd turned an interesting color. "They're starting!" Ino squealed. Mar sat up and leaned forward, excited to be seeing this in person. She idly wondered if the hospital tent was a better lurking option, seeing as she could meet the defeated as they came out.

"If it wasn't for the fact that Sasuke doesn't laugh, I would swear that I can hear him laughing at Naruto from here." She remarked, watching Naruto get knocked down over and over. "He has staying power, I'll give him that." Ino remarked as Naruto got back to his feet again. "More like freakish stamina." Mar replied, turning to stare at the crowd.

'So bloodthirsty.' The spectators had started up a chant, insisting that Neji finish off Naruto. "Hurry this up Naruto! At this rate you're gonna be one huge bruise." Mar shouted down, cupping her hands around her mouth. 'Where's a bullhorn when you need one?' Naruto glanced in her direction, rolling his eyes as he sprung his trap on Neji. Mar sat back in her seat, satisfied that Naruto had knocked some sense into Neji. It was about time, too.

'Wait. If Sasuke is on time, then his match doesn't need to be postponed... The invasion isn't starting now, is it?!' Mar started hyperventilating. Not only was there a very good chance that the invasion was about to skip ahead a few hours, but Shikamaru wasn't going to be able to fight. Mar could only hope this wouldn't effect his future Chunin promotion.

Leaning forward so far she almost fell into the seat in front of her, Mar paid careful attention to the ninja fighting below. Thus far, everything had gone according to the timeline with the sand defense and such. Sasuke had thrown in some taijutsu he really shouldn't have known at this point, but who would really notice that? Besides Mar, since she was watching for it and doesn't really count.

At the point where Sasuke was clinging to the wall, Spider-Man style, something dawned on Mar. Naruto and Shikamru hadn't come running over to warn Kakashi... Wait, Kakashi hadn't appeared yet either. Lee wasn't due to make his appearance yet either, was he? What the hell was going on around here? The Chidori was flashing strongly, and Sasuke sprinted down the wall towards an unsuspecting Gaara. 'I can't watch.' Mar closed her eyes, breath held, until she heard the shriek that signified that Sasuke had hit his mark. 'My poor Gaara.'

One moment Sakura was debating Sasuke's coolness with Ino, completely missing Mar's discomfort, and the next the stadium had gone quiet. Not hushed, as though everyone were waiting for the next move, but silent. Then someone snored and Mar opened her eyes to see mostly everyone around her sleeping. Ino was leaning on Sakura's shoulder, until she was pushed to the other side, and Sakura was looking around wide-eyed. "What the hell did I just miss?"

"It's started girls. Sakura, you go find Naruto and Shikamaru and follow after Sasuke. He should be waiting for you." Kakashi had appeared behind Mar, who had jumped the moment he started speaking. Kakashi eye smiled down at her, holding a hand up in a peace sign. "Hello, miss me?" Mar hung her head in her hands and groaned. What the hell?!

A/N- Oops, it would seem that Sasuke broke time. And Mar's brain, but that can be fixed later. Right?


	26. A Melting of the Mind

Mar watched in fascination as Kakashi and Gai effectively tag teamed all the opposing ninja. Whenever one of them missed a target the other would jump in effortlessly. It was beautiful, like a deadly dance. So entranced with the graceful movements was she, in fact, that Mar completely missed the ninja behind her readying a blow at her skull. Thankfully Kakashi's ninja senses started to tingle, and he smashed the foolish ninja's face in.

Mar blinked as she tried wiping the blood off the side of her shirt. "Do you know how hard it is to get blood stains out?"

"I'm sure you'll survive." Kakashi said as he ducked one ninja and kicked another one. Gai swooped in behind him and literally knocked one of the two through the wall. Mar winced as the poor guy's skull made contact with concrete. "Ah, my ever youthful rival! And who is this fair maiden?" Kakashi skillfully avoided the question by engaging another enemy. The fight led him away from his 'rival' leaving poor Mar to pick up his slack.

"Hello. I'm Mar. I would just like to say that I admire your skill, and that it would appear that Kakashi has gotten himself surrounded." Gai spun on the spot, and sure enough the Sound ninja had decided to focus all their energy on taking down one of the two at a time. Mar breathed a sigh of relief as Gai ran off to annihilate all in his path.

Deciding that out in the open was a bad place to be, a point that was validated when a kunai whizzed past her ear, Mar ducked under the row of seats. A human pincushion she was not. That was Sasuke's thing.

Watching the action all around her, Mar waited for an opening and promptly sprinted to the entrance, vaulting over a pile of defeated Sound ninja that had formed when Gai had used a single mighty punch to power through them. It had been both amazing, and traumatic to behold. Reaching the street and seeing the chaos made Mar wonder if her choice of action had been particularly wise, but it was too late to backtrack. 'Need cover. I wonder if anyone bothered trying to terrorize the empty Uchiha Compound?'

Goal in mind, Mar ran from building to nearly demolished building dodging knives and falling debris as she went. That was when the giant snake came into view. "I refuse to get eaten." Mar pressed herself against the wall, occasionally peering around the corner to check if the coast was clear. The snake had paused, tongue flickering in the air, head swiveling as it tried to pinpoint where it's meal was hiding. 'Okay, maybe I will end up getting eaten. I swear if I die, I'm haunting Orochimaru until Sasuke kills him.'

Plotting how best to annoy the Sannin for the rest of his days, Mar saw the snake slither closer to her hidey hole. Dropping to her belly, Mar army crawled through a hole that had been knocked into the wall. Ignoring the feeling that she was going to get stuck in the small space, Mar sped up until she was behind the snake where she promptly popped back up to her feet and ran for it. 'Come on safety!'

-3-

Kakashi had paused for a quick breather. All the opponents had been dealt with inside the arena, mostly due to Gai's inhuman strength. His wide range attacks were impractical with all the sleeping civilians littering the place. A quick glance up at the roof where the Hokage was fighting Orochimaru proved that their contingency plans were holding up at the moment, so Kakashi made as though to grab Mar and head into the village to help with the rest of Sound's invasion. That was when he realized that Mar was noticeably M.I.A.

"Gai!" His friend paused slightly as he made his way to the exit, indicating he was listening. "Did you notice where Mar went?" Kakashi waited anxiously, unsure if her departure had been her own idea. Gai looked thoughtful a moment, finally shaking his head. "I am afraid I did not see your youthful friend's departure. Allow me to help you in your search!" Kakashi nodded, eyes hardening. God help whoever was dumb enough to take Mar.

-3-

Naruto was shocked. Deeply shaken, practically rooted to the spot. It had been rough, tracking Sasuke and Gaara down. Shikamaru had been left behind to deal with the ninja following them, but he'd be okay. He hadn't gotten the chance for his own match, so his chakra reserves were in good shape. That puppet brat, Kankuro, had tried to hold them up but Shino of all people had appeared. It seemed he wanted his match against the puppet freak. Naruto's group didn't argue, just ran off and left Shino to it.

Now they had finally caught up, and Naruto wasn't sure what it was he was looking at. Sasuke was standing on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk leisurely. Gaara was opposite him, holding his shoulder and glaring at the Uchiha who was mocking him simply by refusing to fight. For the last few minutes, as Sasuke waited for Naruto to get his ass over there, the two had been staring at each other. Sasuke had refused to move from that spot.

"It's about time you got here, moron." Sasuke called up to him, knocking Naruto out of his thoughts. "Now about how we're going to do this without Mar flipping out and trying to murder us in our sleep." Sasuke didn't believe she'd ever be able to accomplish this task, but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life sleeping with one eye open either.

Gaara paused, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What does she have to do with this?" Sasuke gave him an unimpressed look. "Did you really think your biggest fan would be okay with someone kicking your ass?" He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Disregarding the fact that it's impossible for either of you two to accomplish this, why would the girl take exception to you trying?" Gaara was having a rather difficult time wrapping his mind around the concept of anyone caring about his well-being.

Naruto was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that Sasuke was acting... very unSasuke-like. If he closed his eyes, he could practically see Mar saying the exact same thing, in the exact same tone. A glance to the side showed that Sakura looked just as alarmed by Sasuke's behavior as he was. Sasuke sighed, still shaking his head, before giving Gaara the flat look Mar had become known for. Naruto decided that Sasuke and Mar had had too much contact and should be separated for a few days.

"Mar likes you, for some bizarre reason, so of course she would care if something happened to you." Sasuke explained in the tone usually reserved for very young children. Gaara didn't seem able to grasp the concept, it actually seemed to cause him pain. Naruto yelled out a warning as Gaara lifted an arm and sand shot out towards Sasuke. Naruto watched in horror as Sasuke didn't even try to dodge, ending up wrapped in a sand cocoon.

With a very bored expression Sasuke released a burst of electricity. If Mar had been there she would have had flashbacks of older Sasuke fighting Deidara. That fight had been especially traumatic for her. The charge shot through the sand, causing Gaara's control of it to be broken. Freed of the cocoon, Sasuke rolled his eyes at the furious Sand ninja. "I don't suppose it would be too much to ask for you just to surrender and come back with us, would it?"

Naruto could practically feel his mind melting.

A/N- Cruddy internet, and the site refusing to cooperate, led to me not updating when previously intended. I apologize. I also wish to thank the reviewers, followers, and favoriters for being awesome. I am aware that favoriters isn't really a word, but I'm working with it anyway. :P


End file.
